News of the World

[kyonides]

Taiwanese battery maker Prologium
to invest €5 billion in French factory

The group hopes to start production at the end of 2026, and ramp up over several years until it has some 3,000 employees in the factory.

It will invest 5.2 billion euros ($5.7 billion) in Dunkirk by 2030, and produce batteries for hundreds of thousands of cars there once at full capacity.

The group specialises in the development of "solid-state" batteries which are considered more powerful, safer and quicker to charge than the lithium-ion cells often used in electric vehicles.

"We can charge 80 percent of the battery in 12 minutes... if if we take the Tesla model 3 this 80 percent (will take) 20 minutes," said Gilles Normand, vice president for international development.

Solid-state batteries are also around 50 kilograms lighter, he added, which makes a big difference to the performance of the car carrying it.

Russia to Deploy New Kamikaze Drone in Ukraine

The Oko Design Bureau’s Privet-82 has a flight range of 30 kilometers (18.64 miles) and can carry a payload of 5 kilograms (11 pounds).

A low cost of 100,000 roubles ($1,300) allows mass deployment of the drone.

Test flights of the Privet-82 have been completed, paving the way for the first batch to be deployed in Ukraine within a month.

The Privet-82 will be launched from a single hub 15-20 kilometers (9.3-12.4 miles) away from the front line, obviating the need to store drones and catapults near the border. 

Having the drone hub away from the front line also allows it to house multiple drones.

Majority of Japanese Reluctant to Defend Taiwan if China Invades

A new survey by a Japanese media outlet has found that most in the country are concerned about their government helping Taiwan in a Chinese invasion.

Eighty percent of the 3,000 adults surveyed by Asahi Shimbun daily newspaper expressed fear that Tokyo would get caught up in the conflict if China were to attack the island nation.

Fifty-six percent of those polled also said the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) should only provide rear-echelon support, such as fuel, food, and medical supplies.

Meanwhile, 11 percent agreed that the Japanese military should join forces with the US to counter Chinese attacks.
...[Tokyo] said that an invasion of Taiwan would also pose a threat to Japan, leaving China in control of sea lanes to transport most of Tokyo’s energy needs and food supplies.

Japan’s move to boost its defense spending and upgrade its naval and air capabilities also suggests that the JSDF is preparing for an escalation of conflict.

This might not look as a serious problem for the Japanese, but the truth is that nothing would stop China from invading Japanese territory as well if they don't assist Taiwan in the defense of their homeland. Besides, Japanese companies have invested money in Taiwanese companies or facilities, too. And the biggest microchip producer in the world is... Taiwan!

Arby’s Workers in Louisiana Find Woman’s Body in Freezer,
Police Investigating ‘Suspicious’ Death

The  corpse was discovered during regular business hours at the Arby’s in the Lagniappe Village shopping center in New Iberia, according to a report from local station KADN. Authorities investigating the death described it as “suspicious,” though they added it may have been an accident.

“So it was an employee that discovered the female deceased inside the cooler, (and) the deceased is an employee of the restaurant,” New Iberia Police Capt. Leland Laseter told KADN.
...
“(We) pretty much have completed our process at the crime scene. After completely processing the crime scene… this does not seem like a homicide, it seems like an accident.”
...
The identity of the deceased has not been released. But a report from local station KLFY asserted the individual was manager at the establishment.

China Signs Free Trade Agreement with ‘Conservative’ Ecuador

The Chinese Commerce Ministry announced Thursday that Ecuador has signed a free trade agreement (FTA) to “create a more favorable, transparent, and stable business environment for enterprises” with China.
...
This bilateral deal will allow 50 percent of Ecuador’s exportable supply to be immediately released from tariffs for entry into China. In the course of the next 10 years, 99.6 percent of Ecuadorian products will be completely tax-free.

Among the main Ecuadorian export products are tuna and sardines, which will have immediate tax relief for their entry into China. Ecuadorian roses and cacao will be completely tax-free in five years, while shrimp and bananas will be tax-free in ten years.

To protect local industries from Chinese products, the FTA defines 828 goods as “highly sensitive.” Among them are flat ceramics, wooden boards, textiles, and iron wire.
...
The Financial Times predicted U.S. policymakers would see the FTA as a “frustrating” development since the U.S. has been trying to contain Beijing’s “growing influence” in Latin America.

China already has FTAs with Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica. The deal with Ecuador is particularly disappointing because President Guillermo Lasso is a “pro-American conservative who had sought closer trade and investment ties with the U.S.”

Judge Blocks Biden’s Post-Title 42 Catch-and-Release Policy

DHS is enjoined from implementing or enforcing the parole policy contained in the May 10, 2023, Memorandum from U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, titled “Policy on Parole with Conditions in Limited Circumstances Prior to Issuance of a Charging Document (Parole with Conditions).

“A TRO is an extraordinary measure that preserves the status quo while a federal trial judge is determining whether to issue a preliminary injunction, or PI,” explained Breitbart News senior legal contributor Ken Klukowski.

“A PI then lasts all the way until a final judgment in a lawsuit, though in this case the Biden administration will promptly take the PI to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta. This order would stay in place during that time.”
...
“This is a harmful ruling that will result in unsafe overcrowding at C.B.P. facilities and undercut our ability to efficiently process and remove migrants, and risks creating dangerous conditions for Border Patrol agents and migrants,” the agency said in a statement to the New York Times.

More than 10,000 migrants have crossed the border on each of the last three days.

Germany Changes Mind Again, Will Sell Major Stake in Top Port
to China Government Owned Shipping Giant

China’s shipping giant Cosco is to acquire a 24.9 per cent share — down from 35 per cent in the original bid of 2021 — in the Hamburg Tollerort container terminal, one of four terminals that make up the Port of Hamburg, after a German government spokesman said the had decided the deal could go ahead.

The purchase by the Chinese state-owned company had been initially approved by the left-wing German government of Olaf Scholz, who was reported to have personally intervened to push it through in the opposition of some in government who warned selling critical national infrastructure to China could be a bad idea. Yet an investigation into Cosco buying a near-quarter of Tollerort put the idea on ice earlier this year over “national security concerns” after it found the port had not been placed on the government register of critical infrastructure.

...Scholz who they say “was strongly pushing for the 24.99 percent deal to remain valid” in October. The publication cites critics who claim: “partial port acquisition is part of a targeted investment strategy through which Beijing wants to bring infrastructure throughout Europe under its influence.”

The Port of Hamburg is the third-largest port in Europe, a major point of ingress for manufactured goods from countries like China.

...“This development is expected to concentrate the flow of goods between Asia and Europe, which is significant considering China’s status as Germany’s and the Port of Hamburg’s primary trading partner. Approximately 30 per cent of the goods handled at the Port of Hamburg are either from China or destined for the country.”