world

The prison escapee and on-again off-again petty criminal – whose best-known alias was Jack Karlson – shot to fame in 2009, after a clip of his dramatic 1991 arrest outside of a Chinese restaurant in Brisbane was uploaded to the internet and enthralled the nation.

“What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal” Karlson theatrically shouted while resisting a string of officers.

“Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest” and “get your hand off my penis” were among his other now immortalised lines.

The seminal moment has inspired thousands of memes, musical remixes, reaction videos and even a few tattoos. Democracy Manifest is also the name of a purebred Australian racehorse.

Members of an “uncontacted” Indigenous group used bows and arrows to attack loggers in the Peruvian Amazon in a confrontation that left at least one person injured, according to a local Indigenous organisation.

The incident came just weeks after more than 50 men and boys from the isolated group known as the Mashco Piro made a rare appearance on a beach in the Peruvian Amazon.

Campaigners warn that the Mashco Piro are under siege from logging activity – both illegal and legal – and the latest clashes are likely to increase calls for the government to finally demarcate their ancestral territory after years of conflict.

“This is a permanent emergency,” said Teresa Mayo, Peru researcher for Survival International, an NGO that promotes Indigenous rights, which released images of the Mashco Piro last month. “It is very tense in the zone. Everyone there is afraid,” she said of the area where logging concessions border the 829,941-hectare (2m-acre) Madre de Dios territorial reserve, a protected area where the tribe lives.

The Israeli government did not tamper with the Hezbollah devices that exploded, defense and intelligence officials say. It manufactured them as part of an elaborate ruse.

nytimes.com/…/israel-exploding-pagers-hezbollah.h…

Summary

Donald Trump criticized the U.K.'s renewable energy focus, calling to “open up” North Sea oil production and abandon wind turbines.

His comments followed reports of declining North Sea oil production and U.S. company Apache’s planned exit by 2029.

Oil firms have reduced investments due to higher taxes and declining resources, while the U.K. aims to decarbonize its energy sector by 2030, expanding offshore wind power.

However, the offshore wind industry faces financial challenges, including rising costs and reduced investments, prompting debates on balancing energy security and green transition goals.

The post-festive return to work in the dark days of January is never easy, but this new year is shaping up to be tougher than usual for UK workers. Not only must they brave days of severe cold and ice, but many face the end of post-pandemic hybrid working.

A range of big employers are hauling their teams back to the office, with Amazon issuing the strictest mandate, demanding staff attend in person five days a week.

Such orders are provoking fresh battles between employees and their bosses, who believe staff need to be brought together to foster collaboration, creativity and a sense of belonging.

While the luxury of being able to work remotely is not possible for all jobs, it has increasingly become viewed as a right in the almost five years since Covid lockdowns forced staff to carry out their roles from their dining tables, spare bedrooms or sheds at the bottom of the garden, with many arguing they are just as productive at home.

cross-posted from: lemm.ee/post/51390487

cross-posted from: lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/37774435

Currently developing, little info out yet.

Summary

Denmark and the Netherlands criticized Trump’s demand that foreign companies with U.S. government contracts eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Denmark called for a coordinated EU response, labeling the move a potential trade barrier.

The Trump administration sent letters to European firms—including in France and Belgium—warning they must comply with a DEI ban or risk losing U.S. contracts.

European officials condemned the letters, defending DEI as essential to corporate responsibility. The EU Commission is reviewing the situation, while the U.S. State Department called the effort a compliance measure.

Drug shortages in the UK have risen to their worst level for four years, official figures show, with Brexit considered a key reason so many medications are scarce.

Drug companies notified the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) about disruptions to supply 1,938 times during last year – the highest number since the 1,967 seen in 2021.

Medications to treat epilepsy and cystic fibrosis are among those that pharmacists are finding it hard or impossible to get hold of, creating risks for patients’ health.

The figures have emerged in a new report by the Nuffield Trust health thinktank, which obtained them under freedom of information laws from the DHSC, which oversees the availability of drugs UK-wide.

Summary

Global leaders criticized Trump’s new tariffs, which range from 10% to 49%, warning of trade wars and economic fallout.

The UK and Italy urged negotiation, while Brazil passed a reciprocity bill. China and South Korea vowed countermeasures.

Australia and New Zealand rejected Trump’s logic, citing existing trade deals and low tariffs. Norfolk Island was baffled by a 29% duty despite having no exports.

Financial markets dropped, oil and bitcoin sank, and leaders warned of inflation. Analysts say Trump risks fracturing global trade with little to gain economically.

Summary

The U.S. imposed a 29% tariff on Norfolk Island, nearly triple the 10% rate applied to the rest of Australia, with no explanation from the White House.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed confusion, noting Norfolk Island’s limited economic activity. The territory has a population of about 2,000 and minimal exports.

Other remote territories like Christmas Island and Heard and McDonald Islands also received tariffs, though the latter are uninhabited.

cross-posted from: lemmy.ca/post/41122378

Cloudflare turns AI against itself with endless maze of irrelevant facts

Summary

Most European countries moved clocks forward one hour on Sunday, marking the start of daylight saving time (DST), a practice increasingly criticized.

Originally introduced during World War I to conserve energy, DST returned during the 1970s oil crisis and now shifts Central European Time to Central European Summer Time.

Despite a 2018 EU consultation where 84% of nearly 4 million respondents supported abolishing DST, implementation stalled due to member state disagreement.

Poland, currently holding the EU presidency, plans informal consultations to revisit the issue amid broader geopolitical priorities.

Summary

Tesla’s EU vehicle sales dropped 49% in January and February 2025, with registrations falling to 19,046.

Analysts link the decline to Elon Musk’s political alignment with Trump and nationalist European parties, sparking backlash, including arson and vandalism at Tesla facilities.

Compounding issues, newer Chinese-made EVs are surpassing Tesla sales in Europe, with Tesla’s market share falling from 18.4% to 7.7% year-to-date.

An underwater camera set up 55 years ago to try and photograph the Loch Ness Monster has been found by accident by a robot submarine.

The ocean-going yellow sub - called Boaty McBoatface - was being put through trials when its propeller snagged the mooring for the 1970s camera system.

It is believed it was lowered 180m (591ft) below the loch’s surface by the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau, a group set up in the 1960s to uncover the existence of Nessie in the waters.

No footage of Nessie has been found on the camera, but one of the submarine’s engineers was able to develop a few images of the loch’s murky waters.

Two men were found guilty on Friday of cutting down Britain’s ‘Sycamore Gap’ tree two years ago, felling the much-loved landmark whose dramatic silhouette had featured in a Hollywood movie in what prosecutors described as a “moronic mission”.

The sycamore, estimated to be almost 200 years old, stood at the centre of a dramatic dip in the landscape alongside the historic Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, making it a popular spot for photographers, hikers and even marriage proposals.

The felling also caused damage to part of Hadrian’s Wall, built by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The plan would replace the $600 million in subsidies Denmark gives the island each year

The Donald Trump administration is reportedly considering giving about $10,000 to each Greenland resident as part of its plan to annex the island.

The possibility would seek to replace the $600 million Denmark gives the territory in subsidies every year, and has stopped being mere rhetoric to become official U.S. policy, according to The New York Times.

The outlet detailed that the plan already includes several cabinet departments and that the White House’s National Security Council has met several times to advance on it, recently sending specific instructions to different offices.