Russian inflation accelerated in May to the highest in more than a year, adding to pressure on the central bank to hike the key rate to curb price growth....
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court are investigating alleged Russian cyberattacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure as possible war crimes, four sources familiar with the case said....
These are not marketing but training materials offering authoritarian principles in areas such as law enforcement, journalism, legal issues, space technologies, and many other topics, to build and maintain a totalitarian regime as China's authoritarian capitalism model. It's for the benefit of a few, while the people's freedoms are suppressed.
The addition of external propaganda bases in Zhejiang and Tianjin over the past two weeks brings the total number at the provincial level to 23. These International Communication Centers (ICCs), also being launched at the city level, are meant to remake China’s approach to delivering its message externally....
A video recently shared on various Chinese news and social media sites shows a set of timers installed above a row of toilet cubicles in a female washroom, with each stall getting its own digital counter....
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, has announced plans to ban donations to registered political parties, members of parliament and candidates. The state will provide funding to allow parties and candidates to contest elections, run campaigns and promote political ideas, according to the proposed bill....
Data for May due this week is forecast to show a resumption of loan growth after a shock contraction in April, the first for almost two decades. But nobody expects a return to the days when Beijing would engineer borrowing booms to speed up the world’s second-biggest economy....
Group of Seven leaders are set to reach a political agreement to provide Ukraine with $50 billion of aid using the profits generated by frozen Russian sovereign assets, according to an Elysee official....
- Hackers working for the Chinese government gained access to more than 20,000 VPN appliances sold by Fortinet using a critical vulnerability that the company failed to disclose for two weeks after fixing it, Netherlands government officials said....
Chinese solar panel manufacturers said they are seeking immediate government intervention to curb investment and industry collaboration to arrest a plunge in prices of solar cells and modules, as the industry faces overcapacity....
- Hackers working for the Chinese government gained access to more than 20,000 VPN appliances sold by Fortinet using a critical vulnerability that the company failed to disclose for two weeks after fixing it, Netherlands government officials said....
Temu, a popular marketplace where consumers can buy direct from factories overseas at cheap prices, is drawing concerns from lawyers and privacy experts in North America who allege the shopping app can be “invasive” for unwitting users....
According to a report by the Financial Times (paywalled link), members of the Bucharest Nine (B9) group are considering excluding Hungary from their talks in the future....
An Italian subsidiary of French luxury giant LVMH that makes Dior-branded handbags was placed under court administration on Monday, after a probe alleged it had sub-contracted work to Chinese-owned firms that mistreated workers....
Finland said that a Russian military aircraft violated its airspace on Monday in the first such move since the Nordic country joined the NATO alliance last year....
The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, has said a failed arson attack that took place in Prague last week was "very likely" organised and financed by Russia....
Young voters in key election battlegrounds are being recommended fake AI-generated videos featuring party leaders, misinformation, and clips littered with abusive comments, the BBC has found....
Leaked internal documents have exposed the activities of a Russian state-backed legal defence foundation that European intelligence agencies and analysts say is in fact a Kremlin influence operation active in 48 countries across Europe and around the world....
As China strives to surpass the United States with cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence, the leadership is keen to ensure technologies reach the public with the right political blind spots pre-engineered. Can Chinese AI hold its tongue on the issues most sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party?...
NATO's recent move to strengthen its eastern border is aimed at deterring Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday, adding that it should be clear to Moscow that the alliance will be ready to defend itself if necessary....
Romania denies visas for entire Russian delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Bucharest over "aggression against Ukraine" ( en.rua.gr )
Archived link...
'We have no choice now’: Desperate to circumvent sanctions and do business with China, Russian companies resort to bartering and cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar ( meduza.io )
Archived link...
A minority of wealthy countries opposing a legally binding U.N. global tax convention may seek to water it down, risking the convention becoming as “inconsequential as the OECD”, experts warn ( www.icij.org )
Archived link...
Mozilla defies Kremlin, restores banned Firefox add-ons in Russia ( www.theregister.com )
Mozilla has reinstated certain add-ons for Firefox that earlier this week had been banned in Russia by the Kremlin....
Mozilla defies Kremlin, restores banned Firefox add-ons in Russia ( www.theregister.com )
Mozilla has reinstated certain add-ons for Firefox that earlier this week had been banned in Russia by the Kremlin....
Russia inflation hits new 2024 peak, Central Bank warns of ‘significant’ rate hike ( www.bloomberg.com )
Russian inflation accelerated in May to the highest in more than a year, adding to pressure on the central bank to hike the key rate to curb price growth....
International Criminal Court (ICC) investigating alleged Russian cyberattacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure as possible war crimes, sources say ( www.reuters.com )
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court are investigating alleged Russian cyberattacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure as possible war crimes, four sources familiar with the case said....
"Training future authoritarians": How China promotes its authoritarian capitalism model by teaching government officials in the Global South on how to infringe people's freedom and undermine democracy ( www.atlanticcouncil.org )
Archived link...
China's government launched additional "local communication centers" to increase propaganda efforts worldwide ( chinamediaproject.org )
The addition of external propaganda bases in Zhejiang and Tianjin over the past two weeks brings the total number at the provincial level to 23. These International Communication Centers (ICCs), also being launched at the city level, are meant to remake China’s approach to delivering its message externally....
Chinese #MeToo journalist jailed for five years ( www.bbc.com )
A prominent female #MeToo activist in China has been handed a five-year jail sentence for "subversion against the state"....
Kremlin's top security officials call on Russians to mobilise to inflict 'maximum harm' on West in response to sanctions ( www.reuters.com )
- Kremlin hawk talks of need for harsh campaign against West...
Cruelty-based intervention: Russia is set to reintroduce antipsychotic drug as autism treatment ( theins.press )
Archived link...
How long have you been in there?! A popular tourist destination in China has installed toilet timers. Reactions are mixed. ( edition.cnn.com )
A video recently shared on various Chinese news and social media sites shows a set of timers installed above a row of toilet cubicles in a female washroom, with each stall getting its own digital counter....
How Data-Fueled Neurotargeting Could Kill Democracy ( thereader.mitpress.mit.edu )
Left unchecked, the technique, which weaponizes emotional data for political gain, could erode the foundations of a fair and informed society....
How Data-Fueled Neurotargeting Could Kill Democracy ( thereader.mitpress.mit.edu )
Left unchecked, the technique, which weaponizes emotional data for political gain, could erode the foundations of a fair and informed society....
South Australia to legislate 'world leading' electoral donation ban prohibiting donations and gifts to political parties, backed by tough penalties for those who seek to circumvent the law ( www.premier.sa.gov.au )
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, has announced plans to ban donations to registered political parties, members of parliament and candidates. The state will provide funding to allow parties and candidates to contest elections, run campaigns and promote political ideas, according to the proposed bill....
Russia Accused of ‘Deliberate Pattern’ of Starvation Tactics Against Ukrainian Civilians in Siege of Mariupol City in Submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) ( globalrightscompliance.com )
The link contains also an version of the report in Ukrainian....
China’s maritime militia: the shadowy armada whose existence Beijing rarely acknowledges ( www.theguardian.com )
They look like simple fishing boats but are capable of swarming in huge numbers to help Beijing stake its territorial claims in the South China Sea...
China’s credit engine, which once powered industries and markets all over the world, is stuck in low gear – and set to stay there ( www.bloomberg.com )
Data for May due this week is forecast to show a resumption of loan growth after a shock contraction in April, the first for almost two decades. But nobody expects a return to the days when Beijing would engineer borrowing booms to speed up the world’s second-biggest economy....
G-7 Leaders to Agree to Tap Frozen Russian Assets, Giving Ukraine additional $50 billion of Aid, France Says ( www.bloomberg.com )
Group of Seven leaders are set to reach a political agreement to provide Ukraine with $50 billion of aid using the profits generated by frozen Russian sovereign assets, according to an Elysee official....
China state hackers infected 20,000 Fortinet VPNs, Dutch spy service says ( arstechnica.com )
- Hackers working for the Chinese government gained access to more than 20,000 VPN appliances sold by Fortinet using a critical vulnerability that the company failed to disclose for two weeks after fixing it, Netherlands government officials said....
Ukrainian children aged 8 to 15 who were abducted by Putin's military listed on Russian adoption sites with at least two kids having Russified variant of their original names, investigation finds ( www.pressreader.com )
Original article behind paywall...
Firefox Browser Blocks Anti-Censorship Add-Ons at Russia’s Request ( theintercept.com )
Mozilla, the maker of the popular web browser Firefox, said it received government demands to block add-ons that circumvent censorship....
Firefox Browser Blocks Anti-Censorship Add-Ons at Russia’s Request ( theintercept.com )
Mozilla, the maker of the popular web browser Firefox, said it received government demands to block add-ons that circumvent censorship....
China solar panel manufacturers seek government action to halt freefall in prices as overcapacity takes hit ( www.reuters.com )
Chinese solar panel manufacturers said they are seeking immediate government intervention to curb investment and industry collaboration to arrest a plunge in prices of solar cells and modules, as the industry faces overcapacity....
China state hackers infected 20,000 Fortinet VPNs, Dutch spy service says ( arstechnica.com )
- Hackers working for the Chinese government gained access to more than 20,000 VPN appliances sold by Fortinet using a critical vulnerability that the company failed to disclose for two weeks after fixing it, Netherlands government officials said....
OpenAI's ChatGPT not working for hours as millions forced to use brain in 'major outage' server status ( www.msn.com )
Archived link
Russia Bans Nonexistent 'Anti-Russian Separatist Movement' ( www.themoscowtimes.com )
Archived link...
Shop on the Temu app? Why class-action lawsuits in Canada and the U.S. have been proposed over privacy ( globalnews.ca )
Temu, a popular marketplace where consumers can buy direct from factories overseas at cheap prices, is drawing concerns from lawyers and privacy experts in North America who allege the shopping app can be “invasive” for unwitting users....
Eastern NATO and EU allies discuss barring Hungary from their club ( www.ft.com )
According to a report by the Financial Times (paywalled link), members of the Bucharest Nine (B9) group are considering excluding Hungary from their talks in the future....
"Becoming a totalitarian state" where judges are being compromised by an “impossible political environment created by China”: UK judge on why he quit Hong Kong court ( www.bbc.com )
Lord Sumption’s comments on Monday came as a third senior foreign judge in the past week resigned from the Court of Final Appeal....
Italian subsidiary of French luxury giant LVMH that makes 'Dior' handbags under court administration after report alleged it sub-contracted work to Chinese-owned firms that mistreated workers ( www.reuters.com )
An Italian subsidiary of French luxury giant LVMH that makes Dior-branded handbags was placed under court administration on Monday, after a probe alleged it had sub-contracted work to Chinese-owned firms that mistreated workers....
Russian Military Plane Suspected of Violating Finnish Airspace ( www.bloomberg.com )
Finland said that a Russian military aircraft violated its airspace on Monday in the first such move since the Nordic country joined the NATO alliance last year....
A cartoon cat has been vexing China’s censors – now he says they are on his tail ( www.bbc.com )
Archived link...
Czech PM blames failed arson attempt on Russia ( www.bbc.com )
The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, has said a failed arson attack that took place in Prague last week was "very likely" organised and financed by Russia....
China’s largest payments app debuts AI feature that checks if you’re balding ( cointelegraph.com )
Archived link...
UK election: TikTok users being fed misleading election news, investigation finds ( www.bbc.com )
Young voters in key election battlegrounds are being recommended fake AI-generated videos featuring party leaders, misinformation, and clips littered with abusive comments, the BBC has found....
Russian legal foundation Pravfond linked to Kremlin activities spent millions of euros to finance propaganda and legal campaigns in Europe and around the world, leaked documents reveal ( www.theguardian.com )
Leaked internal documents have exposed the activities of a Russian state-backed legal defence foundation that European intelligence agencies and analysts say is in fact a Kremlin influence operation active in 48 countries across Europe and around the world....
TikTok fails ‘disinformation test’ before EU vote with failures posing a risk to electoral processes, study shows ( www.euractiv.com )
Archived link...
China: After crackdown on Hong Kong, overseas communities carry the torch to keep Tiananmen memories alive ( apnews.com )
Archived link...
Talking Tiananmen with a Chinese chatbot: Chinese developers hope to build the AI of the future. What, if anything, will it have to say about the past? ( chinamediaproject.org )
As China strives to surpass the United States with cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence, the leadership is keen to ensure technologies reach the public with the right political blind spots pre-engineered. Can Chinese AI hold its tongue on the issues most sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party?...
German Chancellor Scholz to Putin: we will defend 'every square inch' of NATO territory ( www.reuters.com )
NATO's recent move to strengthen its eastern border is aimed at deterring Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday, adding that it should be clear to Moscow that the alliance will be ready to defend itself if necessary....
China turns to private hackers as it cracks down on online activists on Tiananmen Square anniversary ( theconversation.com )
By Christopher K. Tong, Associate Professor of Asian Studies, University of Maryland, Baltimore County....
Russia-China gas pipeline deal stalls over what Moscow says Beijing's unreasonable price demands in major blow for Putin ( www.reuters.com )
Here is the paywalled article...
Democracies can learn lessons from Taiwan to counter cognitive influence operations, according to a new research ( ipdefenseforum.com )
Archived link...
'Mitigating factors’: Russian soldiers found guilty in domestic violence cases are getting off with just small fines ( meduza.io )
Archived link...