Bokeo province, Laos – Khobby was living in Dubai last year when he received an intriguing message about a well-paying job working online in a far-flung corner of Southeast Asia.

The salary was good, he was told. He would be working on computers in an office. The company would even foot the bill for his relocation to join the firm in Laos – a country of 7.6 million people nestled between China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

With the company paying for his flights, Khobby decided to take the plunge. But his landing in Laos was anything but smooth.

Khobby discovered that the promised dream job was rapidly becoming a nightmare when his Ghanaian passport was taken on arrival by his new employers.

With his passport confiscated and threats of physical harm ever present, he endured months working inside a compound which he could not leave.

The 21-year-old had become the latest victim of booming online cyber-scam operations in Southeast Asia – an industry that is believed to have enslaved tens of thousands of workers lured with the promise of decently paid jobs in online sales and the information technology industry.

On May 25, Palestinian negotiators from Hamas believed they were on the verge of a deal to end the Gaza genocide. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Hamas was told, had approved a term sheet that reflected Hamas’s major demands, and indicated the Trump administration would work to have Israel accept them.

But less than a week later, Witkoff came back with a dramatically altered version, crafted with Israel, that did not explicitly guarantee key provisions for ending Israel’s war or the withdrawal of its forces. This new agreement made between Israel and the U.S. was subsequently touted in the press as Trump’s plan to end the war on Gaza and the onus was now on Hamas to accept it.

The terms provisionally agreed to by Hamas largely return to the previous ceasefire deal signed on January 17 and violated by Israel in early March—meaning a major withdrawal of Israeli forces, the delivery of hundreds of trucks a day of food, medicine, fuel and other aid. The agreement would also mandate that Hamas give up governing power in Gaza, an independent Palestinian committee would be created to take charge, and reconstruction would begin immediately.

Three doctors have been charged over the death of a pregnant woman, named only as Dorota, while she was in hospital under their care. Prosecutors found that “there was a failure to undertake appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, which led to the patient’s death”.

Dorota’s death in 2023 prompted mass protests against Poland’s near-total abortion ban, which activists blamed for the doctors’ decision not to terminate the pregnancy despite it threatening the woman’s life. It also led the then government to take action to ensure pregnant women receive appropriate medical care.

Dorota, who was aged 33, was admitted to John Paul II Hospital in the city of Nowy Targ in May 2023 while five months pregnant after her waters had broken prematurely. She died a few days later as a result of septic shock.

According to the findings of prosecutors, a few hours before her death, an ultrasound scan showed that the foetus had already died, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

The state commissioner for patients’ rights concluded that Dorota’s rights had been violated both in terms of not receiving appropriate medical care and not being provided with correct information about her health condition.

On Friday, prosecutors announced that they had filed charges against three gynaecology and obstetrics doctors involved in Dorota’s care, one of whom was at the time head of the hospital department.

All were charged with exposing the patient to immediate danger of loss of life and one was additionally charged with unintentionally causing her death. Both of those crimes are punishable by up to five years in prison.

A lawyer representing Dorota’s family, Jolanta Budzowska, welcomed the charges but added that the “liability of medical personnel is only one dimension of this tragedy”.

“The source of medical errors is often unclear law, which requires change,” said Budzowska. “The arbitrary interpretation of the applicable regulations creates a risk for both doctors and patients.”

Budzowska is also representing the family of another woman, Izabela, whose death in hospital in 2021 while pregnant also prompted mass protests against the abortion law.

“After Izabela’s death, recommendations were issued by the health minister,” noted the lawyer. “But these did not prevent Dorota’s death, and subsequent positions and standards issued by medical associations do not solve the problem of the lack of safety for women.”

Earlier this year, a medical court suspended three doctors from practising medicine after finding negligence in their treatment of Izabela, including their decision not to terminate her pregnancy despite signs of the development of sepsis.

Supporters of Poland’s strict abortion law argue that it is not to blame for such incidents because it stillincreas allows pregnancies to be terminated if they threaten the mother’s life or health. They say the tragedies are the result of medical malpractice.

However, protests against the law, which was toughened in 2021 after a constitutional court ruling, argue that it has created an atmosphere in which doctors are fearful of legal consequences for performing abortions.

In 2021, only 107 legal abortions were carried out in Poland (and most of them before the new law went into force in late January) compared to over 1,000 in 2020, when the previous law was in place. Since then, the number of terminations has increased, though remains well below the previous level.

The current government, which came to power in December 2023, has pledged to liberalise the abortion law. However, it has so far failed to do so, as it has been unable to find agreement between more conservative and liberal elements of the ruling camp on what form the new law should take.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/30901958

May 29, 2025
By Catherine Russell

Ms. Russell is the executive director of UNICEF.

"Before hostilities resumed, the United Nations operated a vast and effective aid delivery system inside Gaza. During the recent cease-fire, we were delivering assistance like essential vaccines and medicine, lifesaving nutrition services and access to clean water through more than 400 distribution points, including in sites close to shelters for displaced families. UNICEF and our partners went even further, delivering aid door-to-door, reaching malnourished children and pregnant women directly in their places of refuge."

https://archive.ph/1H3Oc

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/30902546

Opinion - Soumaya Ghannoushi 29 May 2025 12:04 BST

"As Haaretz reported, Israeli youths marched through the Muslim Quarter chanting “Death to Arabs”, “Flatten Gaza” and “There’s no school in Gaza, there’s no children left”. Flagpoles were slammed against ancient doors, while marchers cursed the Prophet Muhammad and mocked the memory of Palestine.

Not a single person was arrested for incitement.

On Jerusalem Day, the law of incitement is effectively suspended. Hate becomes state-sanctioned. The slogans screamed are not cries against Hamas, but declarations of war on Arabs, on Muslims - on the very soul of the city."

from The Forward
[Jewish publication from USA]
Jay Michaelson
May 28, 2025

"The gulf between Israel’s government and the rest of the world — including its allies, the Trump administration, the Israeli public, and the American Jewish community — is widening into a chasm. And yet some in Jewish leadership are hiding their heads in the sand.

Critics of the Netanyahu-Smotrich regime are no longer just campus protesters, or hostile-to-Israel regimes, or antisemites like the murderer of two young Jews at an AJC event in Washington DC last week. They include former prime minister Ehud Olmert..."

Space cake, weed cookies and hash brownies may be familiar fare in the Netherlands, but cannabis in bags of children’s candy is not and Haribo has recalled its Happy Cola F!ZZ sweets after traces of the drug were found inside.

Several people, including children, suffered “health complaints, such as dizziness” after eating sweets from three 1kg packs, the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) in the Netherlands said, adding that a full recall had been undertaken as a precaution.

“How the cannabis ended up in the sweets is still unknown,” a spokesperson for the authority told the Dutch news agency ANP. “The police are investigating the matter further.” The authority said the packs concerned were genuine Haribo products.

Israel’s foreign minister has said that an arms embargo on his country would lead to the elimination of the Israeli state and “a second Holocaust”.

Gideon Saar was speaking on Tuesday at an international conference on antisemitism in Jerusalem.

United States President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered US firms that offer software used to design semiconductors to stop selling their services to Chinese groups, the Financial Times has reported, citing people familiar with the move.

Electronic design automation software makers, which include Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens EDA, were told via letters from the US Commerce Department to stop supplying their tech, the report, which was published on Wednesday, said.

Ireland wants an expansion of the definition of genocide to bring home the enormity of what Israel is doing in Gaza, the Taoiseach has told the Dáil. The Israeli Government, with its “far-right elements”, is "committing genocide in Gaza right now," Micheál Martin said.

The Taoiseach said Ireland, Spain and Norway had initiated recognition, followed by Slovenia, in partnership with the Arab states. But he admitted that Ireland has failed to persuade many other countries that it targeted diplomatically to join the recognition initiative.

The Taoiseach added: "We're hoping that we will broaden the criteria by which Genocide is judged by the Geneva Convention." Some countries have been claiming that Israel's "slaughter" of Palestinians, as Mr Martin put it, does not constitute genocide, which means a policy of deliberate attempted extermination of an entire people.

“The proposed deal from the Israelis through Witkoff is extremely difficult to accept,” said a senior Hamas official to Drop Site. “There is no talk about the [ceasefire] deal from January 19. There is no talk about a return to the situation before March 2” when Israel abandoned the original ceasefire. The Hamas official said that there is no guarantee Israel would even respect the 60-day truce after its ten captives are returned in the first week of the deal. “They might launch the war again,” he said. “There are no guarantees to a permanent ceasefire, no guarantees for a permanent withdrawal.”

On Thursday, a senior Palestinian resistance figure told Drop Site that Hamas is still debating the language in the draft. He pointed out that the assurances about Trump’s commitment to a long-term ceasefire are not enforceable and that Israel repeatedly violates ceasefire agreements, including the January deal that Trump pushed through before his inauguration. "Releasing half [of the living Israeli captives] within a week and then putting your hopes in Trump is not very reassuring,” he told Drop Site.

Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, told Drop Site earlier this month that the group had received a direct commitment from Witkoff that two days after the release of U.S. citizen and Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, the Trump administration would compel Israel to lift the Gaza blockade and allow humanitarian aid to enter the territory. Witkoff, according to Naim, also promised that Trump would make a public call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for negotiations aimed at achieving a “permanent ceasefire.”

“He did nothing of this,” Naim said. “They didn't violate the deal. They threw it in the trash.”

“There are a lot of reservations on this paper as a framework. There are a lot of loopholes. There are a lot of ambiguities,” a Palestinian source close to the negotiating team told Drop Site. “Israel will never agree to end the war under this framework. The number of aid trucks are not mentioned. There are no specifics about where the Israeli forces will withdraw to. All of these are problems which will probably impede this. Witkoff tried to accommodate Israel much more than what was in the earlier paper. It’s going to take some time before a deal gets approved by the movement.”

Speaking to Ukrinform, Ivashchenko detailed a robust military-technical exchange between Pyongyang and Moscow, which includes 120 M1989 Koksan self-propelled artillery systems and an equal number of M1991 multiple rocket launchers, both critical assets in modern warfare.

The artillery shells at the heart of this reported exchange are primarily 122mm and 152mm rounds, standard calibers in Soviet-designed artillery systems widely used by Russian forces. The 122mm shells are compatible with systems like the D-30 howitzer, a towed artillery piece known for its mobility and reliability, capable of firing high-explosive rounds up to 15 kilometers.

The sheer volume of six million shells, if accurate, suggests a logistical operation of unprecedented scale, potentially involving thousands of shipping containers moved by sea or rail through routes that may include North Korea’s Rajin port and Russia’s Vostochny or Dunay ports.

The M1989 Koksan, a 170mm self-propelled artillery system, is a cornerstone of North Korea’s contribution to Russia’s arsenal. Named after the city where it was first observed by Western intelligence, the Koksan is mounted on a modified tank chassis, likely derived from the Soviet T-62, and boasts an impressive range of up to 60 kilometers with rocket-assisted projectiles.

Its long barrel and heavy caliber make it one of the most powerful artillery systems in North Korea’s inventory, designed to target strategic locations like Seoul from hardened positions along the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/30849754

Jeremy Scahill, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, and Jawa Ahmad May 29, 2025

"A new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire spearheaded by Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, includes a 60-day initial truce, a “redeployment” of some Israeli occupation forces, and an exchange of captives, including ten living Israelis held in Gaza. It would also require the “immediate” delivery of humanitarian aid, including by the United Nations and the Red Crescent. Drop Site obtained a copy of the document, labelled a “term sheet” by Witkoff."

"Beekeepers Tested Honey Using New DNA Technology, But Most Jars Contained Very Little Honey, Mostly Sugar and Other Sweeteners."

"The industry organization Beekeeping Entrepreneurs has tested 40 honey products available in Swedish grocery stores using new DNA technology. The results were disappointing: only four jars contained genuine honey produced in Sweden, while the remaining 36 imported jars mostly contained sugar and syrup.

Yngve Kihlberg, chairman of Beekeeping Entrepreneurs, expressed shock at the extent of the fraud, stating, 'We knew there were counterfeit products on the market, but we are shocked by the scale.' These products are found on the shelves of major grocery chains. According to the organization, the counterfeit honey primarily comes from China, where producers have learned to manipulate the products in a way that evades standard inspections, resulting in jars filled mostly with sugar products and very little honey.

Kihlberg added, 'Chinese counterfeit honey is flooding the market and tastes like honey. However, the consequences are detrimental to European beekeepers, and pollination in Europe is decreasing, which contributes to reduced biodiversity and lower domestic food supply.'

The Swedish Food Agency has acknowledged the DNA test results and considers it a serious issue. Maria Florin, head of the agency, stated, 'We want to combat fraud, but since the honey issue falls under the EU, we cannot take action.'

The EU requires that testing methods for products like honey be accredited by specific laboratories to ensure the tests are conducted correctly. Florin noted, 'The fake honey is not just a problem in Sweden but for beekeepers across the EU. The matter is with the EU Commission, and we do not know when a decision will be made. As long as the EU does not approve the tests, we do not have the right to remove the products from grocery store shelves.'

Swedish grocery retailers have contacted their honey suppliers, but the suppliers argue that according to the currently approved testing methods, the products are classified as honey, so they do not plan to change their inventory. Martin Andersson, responsible for trade policy at Swedish Grocery Retail, stated, 'We would like to change the current testing methods if they are not effective, but we must wait for the EU's decision on the accreditation of DNA tests.'"

Poland’s government has announced 230 million zloty (€54 million) in state support for the construction of what it says will be the world’s largest factory producing towers for offshore wind turbines.

The facility will be built by a Polish subsidiary of Spanish renewable energy company Windar Renovables and located on the northern Baltic Sea coast, where Poland is planning to develop its first offshore wind farms in the coming years.

“The Baltic Sea will be an example in the not-too-distant future of how clean, efficient and inexpensive green energy can be generated for Poland and for the whole of Europe,” said development minister Krzysztof Paszyk during yesterday’s signing of a financing agreement with Windar Polska.

The plant will be built on a 17-hectare site on the island of Ostrów Grabowski, in Szczecin harbour. The ministry says the location was chosen to allow direct sea transport of the massive steel towers, which can measure up to 10 metres in diameter, 50 metres in height, and weigh 450 tonnes.

“Such enormous dimensions make it impossible to transport these elements overland,” Paszyk told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

The factory is expected to produce up to 500 tower sections annually, equivalent to around 100 complete towers, depending on the model, each designed for turbines with a capacity of 14 megawatts. Total investment is expected to reach 880 million zloty, with Windar contributing 653 million zloty and the rest coming from state aid.

Construction of the plant will be carried out by a Polish subsidiary of the Australian PORR group. According to PORR’s statement, the facility will comprise four production lines housed in a 47,000-square-metre building, as well as a raw materials warehouse.

Yesterday, a symbolic foundation stone was laid for the factory, which is due to be completed in 2026 and reach full production capacity in early 2027, reports local newspaper Głos Szczeciński. It is expected to create nearly 500 jobs.

The development marks the latest in a series of investments by foreign firms in Poland’s growing wind turbine manufacturing sector. In early 2022, two Spanish companies, including Windar, announced plans to build wind turbine component factories.

Later that year, a Danish firm revealed it would construct a factory near Szczecin to assemble parts for wind turbines. That facility is scheduled to begin operations this year and to create 700 direct jobs.

Paszyk noted the 230 million zloty in public funding being granted to the new Windar facility is part of a broader 5 billion zloty package earmarked by the ministry for green investments, aimed at reducing Poland’s reliance on conventional energy sources.

The minister cited Baltic Towers, a Polish firm building another offshore wind tower production facility in Gdańsk, which has received more than 376 million zloty in aid.

Other government-backed ventures include SK Nexilis’s copper foil production plant in Stalowa Wola, which received over 545 million zloty in support, and IONWAY Poland’s cathode material factory for electric vehicle batteries near Nysa, supported with nearly 1.5 billion zloty.

“Increasing the share of cheap renewable energy in our energy mix will make it possible to reduce electricity prices,” Paszyk said, quoted by PAP.

Poland remains one of the most coal-dependent countries in the European Union. Although it has accelerated the development of renewables, coal still accounted for 56.7% of electricity generation in 2024. However, in April this year, coal’s share fell below 50% in a single month for the first time.

While Poland does not yet have an operational offshore wind farm, three projects are currently in development, including one that began to be constructed in February and another announced earlier this month.

Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem and Manisha Ganguly
Wed 28 May 2025 16.44 EDT

“Hordes of hungry people broke into WFP’s al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution,” WFP said in a statement, which warned of “alarming and deteriorating conditions on the ground”.

“Humanitarian needs have spiralled out of control after 80 days of complete blockade of all food assistance and other aid into Gaza,” the statement said. “Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance. This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve.”