Country seen as champion of equal rights faces reckoning after senior politician says she felt compelled to quit

Increasing hate, threats and harassment against female politicians are scaring women away from public life and forcing them to censor themselves, the Swedish government’s equality agency has said, warning that this poses a “big threat to democracy.”

Women’s safety in politics has come under heightened scrutiny in the Scandinavian country since October, when Anna-Karin Hatt resigned as leader of the Centre party after only five months in office, citing hate and threats.

“To constantly feel like you need to look over your shoulder and [to] not feel completely safe, not even at home … I am affected by it much more deeply than I thought I would [be],” she said at the time.

Rising levels of hate forcing women out of Swedish public life, says equality agency

^{Miranda Bryant (The Guardian)}

Early results from the general election in Honduras show Nasry Asfura, leader of the right-wing National Party, has a very narrow lead.

With more than 40% of the votes counted, the conservative candidate was just ahead of former TV host and Vice-President Salvador Nasralla, according to preliminary results published by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

Asfura has been backed by Donald Trump, who has threatened to cut financial aid to the Central American nation if his preferred candidate does not win.

Honduras election: presidential candidates locked in 'technical tie', official says

Right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura leads former TV host Salvador Nasralla by just 515 votes, according to country's electoral authority.

^{Will Grant (BBC News)}

cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/46524461

Archived

Not long before he was reportedly detained, Miles Kwan approached commuters outside a Hong Kong train station, urging them to demand accountability for the deadly inferno that tore through nearby apartment blocks.

"We all feel unhappy that (Hong Kong) has come to this and we want things to improve," the 24-year-old student said Friday, while handing out flyers that called for an independent probe into the blaze, which killed at least 128 people last week, with another 150 still missing.
"We need to be frank about how today's Hong Kong is riddled with holes, inside and out."

Kwan and other organizers' demands turned into an online petition that gained more than 10,000 signatures in less than a day.

A second petition with the same demands has been launched by a Tai Po resident who is now living overseas.

“Hongkongers demand the truth and justice,” read one note in the comment section of the new online petition.

But local media reported Saturday night that Kwan was arrested on suspicion of sedition by national security police and the text of the online petition had been deleted, showing how under Beijing's watchful eye, dissenting voices in Hong Kong can vanish as quickly as they appear.

[...]

Reporters' attempts to reach Kwan by phone Sunday morning went unanswered.

[...]

Kwan was reportedly detained not long after Beijing's national security arm in Hong Kong publicly condemned "anti-China forces" for exploiting the disaster and "inciting social division and stirring hatred against authorities."

Asked on Friday if he feared being arrested, Kwan said he was only "proposing very basic demands."

"If these ideas are deemed seditious or 'crossing the line,' then I feel I can't predict the consequences of anything anymore, and I can only do what I truly believe."

Kwan and a handful of activists gave out flyers at the train station near the charred residential estate Friday, demanding government accountability, an independent probe into possible corruption, proper resettlement for residents and a review of construction oversight.

The demands reflected a belief that the fire was "not an accident" but a human-made disaster, he said.

[...]

Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by authorities last year they faced "relatively low fire risks" after complaining about fire hazards posed by the renovation, the city's Labour Department said.

The residents raised concerns in September 2024, including about the potential flammability of the protective green mesh contractors used to cover the bamboo scaffolding, a department spokesperson said.

[...]

When Britain was grappling with public fury over the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which killed 72 people, the government announced a public inquiry.

Lawyer Imran Khan, who represented the bereaved and survivors in the inquiry, said "the lessons from Grenfell apply around the world" as all governments need to ensure high-rise residential buildings are safe.

Khan said a public inquiry with court-like powers was a better option for the situation in Hong Kong because "an internal investigation will not get to the truth and there will be no faith in it by the bereaved, survivors and residents."

Based on his experience with Grenfell residents, he said, "without justice they cannot grieve."

[...]

Near the site of the blaze a short walk away, a long queue snaked through a park as mourners brought flowers and handwritten notes of remembrance.

One unsigned note left on the ground read, "This is not just an accident, it is the evil fruit of an unjust system, which landed on you. It's not right."

Addition:

Reporting on the the deadly fires, Australia's ABC says that Hong Kong residents are asking hard questions about safety following last week's deadly high-rise tower blaze (video, 7 min).

Accountability sought after Hong Kong’s deadly apartment fire

Sarah Ferguson presents Australia's premier daily current affairs program, delivering agenda-setting public affairs journalism and interviews that hold the powerful to account. Plus political analysis from Laura Tingle.

^{www.abc.net.au}

cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/46523973

Archived

China’s already fragile property market took another blow this week as two of its largest private housing data agencies, China Real Estate Information Corp. and China Index Academy, failed to release monthly sales figures for the top 100 developers as expected on Sunday. This data blackout came shortly after China Vanke Co. a developer long perceived as relatively stable requested a delay in repaying a local bond, its first such move.

The agencies did not provide explanations for the delay, a rare deviation from routine reporting schedules that has triggered widespread speculation. The timing suggests a correlation between Vanke’s distress signal and the withholding of market data, reinforcing concerns that the November sales figures may be significantly worse than anticipated.

[...]

The absence of November figures adds opacity to an already uncertain environment. According to Kristy Hung, senior real estate analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, withholding the data “could increase uncertainty about the struggling sector’s condition” and likely reflects “steeper declines” in sales performance across the board.

The lack of transparency is particularly troubling as it undermines efforts by regulators to stabilize market sentiment. Investors are now left to interpret silence as a negative signal, which may accelerate capital flight and further impair refinancing efforts for developers already teetering on the edge of default.

[...]

Vanke’s request to delay bond repayment marks a critical turning point. As one of the few firms previously seen as weathering the crisis, its need for restructuring signals that even stronger developers are now succumbing to funding constraints and weakening sales. This suggests a causal deterioration of sector-wide liquidity, as refinancing options dwindle and investor confidence erodes.

While Evergrande and Country Garden have already defaulted or restructured, Vanke’s case sends a new signal to markets: no developer is immune. The Vanke episode has also likely prompted data providers to pause release to avoid further market panic, underscoring the depth of sentiment fragility.

[...]

China’s housing sector risks sliding further into a protracted downturn marked by fear, opacity, and investor disengagement. The Vanke episode may be just the beginning of a broader reckoning for an industry long seen as a pillar of China’s economic engine.

China’s Missing Housing Data Sparks Fresh Fears After Vanke Bond Extension - FastBull

Two major Chinese private data providers withheld November home sales figures following Vanke’s unexpected bond extension request, raising new concerns about the property sector's transparency and underlying stress....

^{www.fastbull.com}

Deaths and injuries from landmines and unexploded ordnance hit a four-year high in 2024, driven by conflicts in Syria and Myanmar as well as European countries moving to withdraw from the treaty banning their use, a new report showed on Dec 1.

Landmine casualties globally hit 4-year high as states exit ban treaty

Over 6,000 incidents were recorded in 2024, including 1,945 deaths and 4,325 injuries. Read more at straitstimes.com.

^ST

cross-posted from: lemmy.zip/post/54121431

cyanamide, used in products such as the plant-growth regulator Dormex, commonly applied in vineyards, has been banned in the EU since 2009 due to its toxicity, including links to carcinogenicity and infertility.

German chemical giant BASF, Europe’s largest exporter of EU-banned pesticides last year

In 2020, the European Commission pledged to “lead by example” and ban exports of toxic pesticides to third countries. Five years later, no concrete measure has been taken.

https://www.euractiv.com/news/eu-exports-of-banned-chemical-sparks-outcry-in-south-african-vineyards/

Four people have been arrested in South Korea for allegedly hacking over 120,000 video cameras in homes and businesses and using the footage to make sexually exploitative materials for an overseas website.

Police announced the arrests on Sunday, saying the accused exploited the Internet Protocol (IP) cameras' vulnerabilities, such as simple passwords.

A cheaper alternative to CCTV, IP cameras - otherwise known as home cameras - connect to a home internet network and are often installed for security or to monitor the safety of children and pets.

Locations of the hacked cameras reportedly included private homes, karaoke rooms, a Pilates studio and a gynaecologist's clinic.

South Korea police say 120,000 home cameras hacked for 'sexploitation' footage

The cameras were located in private homes, karaoke rooms, a Pilates studio and a gynaecologist's clinic.

^{Gavin Butler (BBC News)}

Hello,

my pdoc has prescribed me aripriprazole and it's the only anti-psychotic I have been taking, does it related to schizophrenia or something else? currently my pdoc is only giving me some anti-depressant and etizolam to control my anxiety.

Scientists believe they have recorded electrical activity in the Martian atmosphere for the first time, suggesting the planet is capable of lightning.

Lead author of the research Dr Baptiste Chide told news agency Reuters: "These discharges represent a major discovery, with direct implications for Martian atmospheric chemistry, climate, habitability and the future of robotic and human exploration."

Lightning detected on Mars by Nasa rover, scientists believe

Researchers heard electric crackles on 28 hours of recordings made over two Martian years.

^{Fiona Nimoni (BBC News)}