More and more young Germans support the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. It capitalizes on their pessimistic outlook and disappointment with other parties, experts say.

When the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was founded in 2013, it had the reputation of an old man's club: gray hair, suits, professors, businessmen from the baby boomer generation. It seemed to be composed mostly of men dissatisfied with the fiscal and foreign policies of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Eleven years later, hardly any of that political landscape remains. Merkel is no longer chancellor, and the AfD has changed dramatically. It has become more radical, but it has also become much younger. And this became increasingly clear during the European Parliament election and a trio of state elections that took place in eastern Germany in 2024.

The anti-immigration party campaigned heavily for the votes of young people. For example, in the eastern state of Thuringia, AfD state chairman Björn Höcke organized a motorcycle rally at the end of the election campaign. His supporters rattled through towns and villages on smoky and smelly two-wheelers made by Simson, a motorcycle manufactured in the former East Germany that is now popular among young people. The rally was accompanied by a professionally coordinated campaign on TikTok, Instagram and other social media, and drew the attention of most of the country's traditional media as well.

Staunch libertarian Javier Milei has implemented a range of austerity measures since taking office. His government blamed previous administrations for the dire economic situation.

The poverty rate in Argentina reached 52.9% during the first six months of Javier Milei’s government, the national statistics agency reported on Thursday.

It marks the highest poverty rate since 2003, and a 11.2% increase compared to the second half of 2023.

The number of people living in extreme poverty grew by 3 million during the first half of 2024, according to the report.

The statistics agency calculates poverty by comparing household income with the cost of a basic basket of goods, which amounts to around $240 (€215).

Turkey is increasing its engagement in several African countries in an effort to boost its influence and trade. But with China and Russia being the dominant players there, Ankara is struggling to find its role.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3233057

China's latest nuclear submarine sank during its construction earlier this year, senior US defense officials said on Thursday.

Satellite images from June showed cranes at the Wuchang shipyard where the Zhou-class attack submarine would have been docked.

These images indicate that the vessel likely sank between May and June, US officials told news agencies including the Associated Press and Reuters.

China has not confirmed the current status of the submarine.

Reports of a submarine sinking during construction could be a potential setback for China as it continues to expand its naval capacity.

"We are not familiar with the situation you mentioned and currently have no information to provide," a Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington said.

A US official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters it was "not surprising" that China's navy would hide the sinking of the submarine.

"In addition to the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the PLA's internal accountability and oversight of China's defense industry — which has long been plagued by corruption," they added, using the acronym for the People's Liberation Army.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3235819

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Openly defending one’s decision not to have children will be prosecuted in Russia. The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, is preparing a bill under which authorities will impose fines of up to €50,000 ($55,580) for supporting “the refusal to have children.” The measure affects all areas of life — from casual conversation to films and books — and is a serious threat to the Russian feminist movement.

The crackdown on what the Kremlin calls the “childfree” movement will result in fines of up to 400,000 rubles for individuals (around $4,300), 800,000 rubles for civil servants ($8,600), and up to five million rubles ($55,580) for companies or other legal entities. Foreigners will also be deported.

There are thousands of reasons why a person may decide not to have children, but the Cabinet of ministers has asked the State Duma to make only three exceptions to the law: religious reasons, medical reasons or in the case of rape. It also alleges that there is a mass-organized childfree movement, even though the websites on this subject are little more than a curiosity; Russian newspapers cite the existence of groups on VKontakte, the Russian Facebook, which barely have 5,000 members.

[...]

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s governing party on Friday picked former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as its leader, setting him up to become prime minister next week.

The party leadership is a ticket to the top job because the Liberal Democratic Party’s governing coalition controls parliament. ……

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/43413713

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3229812

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3229591

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The Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) presents unique challenges for air infrastructure superiority, with its high altitude and rugged terrain. While the expansion of airports and deployment of fighter jets and sophisticated radar systems have been traditional measures of this superiority, a less recognised but equally critical aspect is China's increasing rotary-wing capabilities at extreme altitudes.

[...]

China's critical military infrastructure at higher altitudes is rapidly expanding in the challenging environment of the TAR. A vital part of this expansion is the proliferation of high-altitude heliports and helipads, which are quickly becoming crucial nodes in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) ground and air operations strategy.

These helipads, strategically placed near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, disputed areas with Bhutan, and critical infrastructure like surface-to-missile (SAM) sites and military barracks, serve as logistics hubs. Their role in facilitating rapid troop and equipment movement underscores their strategic significance.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/43399716

Anti-migrant, anti-Islam FPÖ could emerge as most voted for party in Sunday’s parliamentary poll

After winning the EU elections in June, Austria’s far-right Freedom party (FPÖ) seized the moment, calling for the appointment of a EU “remigration” commissioner to be tasked with the forced return of migrants and citizens with a migration background to their countries of origin.

The muted reaction that followed was a sharp contrast to Germany, where months earlier, allegations that members of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) had attended a meeting at which they discussed remigration dominated headlines and prompted tens of thousands to take to the streets in protest.

The difference was not lost on Farid Hafez, a senior researcher at Georgetown University. In Austria, “there was no outcry,” he said. “This is the normalisation of racism that the far right has achieved and that has become a very normal part of daily Austrian politics.”

LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Britain’s wrongful detention and deportation of Caribbean migrants was the result of decades of racist immigration laws designed to reduce the country’s non-white population, a long-withheld official report showed on Thursday.

Known as the Windrush scandal, the revelations of the mistreatment of thousands of Caribbean people damaged the authority of former British prime minister Theresa May, who had led efforts to tackle illegal immigration when she led the interior ministry, or Home Office.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Caribbean came to Britain between 1948 and 1971 on ships such as the Empire Windrush to fill labour shortages in post-war Britain.

In 2018, Britain had to apologise for its treatment of the "Windrush generation", after a tightening of immigration policy meant thousands were denied basic rights despite having lived in Britain for decades and dozens were wrongly deported.

Britain's previous Conservative government in 2022 refused to publish the "The Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal" report, rejecting requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

The report, now released by the newly elected Labour government, found that between 1950 and 1981 "every single piece" of immigration or citizenship legislation was designed at least in part to reduce the number of Black people allowed to live and work in Britain.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20737503

A cargo ship with links to Russia packed with explosive fertiliser is floating off the Kent coast after being denied entry at other ports over safety fears.

Ruby, a Maltese-flagged cargo ship carrying 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser from a port in Russia, was ordered out of Tromso in Norway and turned away from Danish waters.

More alleged shenanigans with this craft drifting around the North Sea, ostensibly enroute to the Canaries.

An 88-year-old man who is the world’s longest-serving death row inmate has been acquitted by a Japanese court, after it found that evidence used against him was fabricated.

Iwao Hakamada, who was on death row for almost half a century, was found guilty in 1968 of killing his boss, the man’s wife and their two teenage children.

He was recently granted a retrial amid suspicions that investigators may have planted evidence that led to his conviction for quadruple murder.

Immunologists push for increase in testing and more widespread vaccine booster rollout as new variant, XEC, emerges

Covid is on the rise in England, and experts have warned that more must be done to prevent and control infections after a "capitulation to the virus".

Prof Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, said those working in the field were perplexed by the current attitude to the battle against Covid, as the latest figures showed an increase in hospital admissions.

The latest data for England from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that hospital admissions increased to 3.71 per 100,000 population for the week between 16 and 22 September 2024, compared with 2.56 per 100,000 the previous week.

The percentage of people with symptoms who have tested positive for Covid, based on tests at sentinel "spotter" laboratories, has also risen in the last week to 11.8% compared with 9.1% in the previous week.

Intelligence agencies concluded that granting Ukraine’s request to use Western missiles against targets deep in Russia could prompt forceful retaliation while not fundamentally changing the course of the war.

U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Russia is likely to retaliate with greater force against the United States and its coalition partners, possibly with lethal attacks, if they agree to give the Ukrainians permission to employ U.S., British and French-supplied long-range missiles for strikes deep inside Russia, U.S. officials said.

The intelligence assessment, which has not been previously reported, also plays down the effect that the long-range missiles will have on the course of the conflict because the Ukrainians currently have limited numbers of the weapons and it is unclear how many more, if any, the Western allies might provide.

. . .

The findings may help explain in part why the decision has been so difficult for Mr. Biden to make, and show the internal pressures on him to say no to Mr. Zelensky’s request. U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters and internal deliberations, said it remained unclear what Mr. Biden would decide to do.

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I mean, he's not wrong, but apparently saying the quiet part out loud became a faux pas in Hungary recently.

It's not as pithy as Orbán's "Rosatom will buy it for me" about RTL Hungary though.

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China sought to cover up the sinking of its newest nuclear-powered submarine, a senior US defense official said on Thursday.

The sinking at a shipyard earlier this year was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which also said that satellite imagery later showed large floating cranes arriving to salvage it.

...

The incident is a setback for China, which is seeking to modernize its navy -- the largest in the world, but which includes many smaller warships such as frigates and corvettes.