Press

Translated from NOS https://nos.nl/l/2544174

Haiti closes airport after shooting of American passenger flight by gangs

In Haiti, the international airport is temporarily closed after gang attacks yesterday opened fire on a plane trying to land on the airport. An employee on board was slightly injured. It was an aircraft, which had departed from the American state of Florida then diverted to the Dominican Republic.

There were clashes between police and police in other parts of the city today gangs. Houses and several schools were also set on fire and have been closed.

It is the second incident within a few weeks. Last month an UN helicopter flying over Port-au-Prince was shot at by gangs. The occupants were not injured.

The US embassy in Haiti says it is aware of the closure of the airport. The situation in the country is "unpredictable and dangerous," the embassy writes. "Travel is at your own risk. The US government cannot guarantee your safety if you visit airports, borders or further destinations." Due to ongoing violence, the embassy will be partially closed tomorrow.

Prison storming

Haiti has been in crisis for years, due to natural disasters, political instability and gang violence. In 2021, President Moïse became assassinated, after which interim Prime Minister Henry came to power. Since the murder there have been no elections in the country for the president.

At the beginning of this year, thousands of detainees escaped in the capital Port-au-Prince, after the prison was stormed. There were also several government buildings and police stations attacked. The international airport was then taken over by the gangs. For several months the airport was closed.

UN mission

The then Prime Minister Henry was in Kenya at the time for consultations about a UN mission to control gang violence. Due to the explosion of violence in the country, he was unable to return. The gang leaders demanded his immediate resignation. Not long after, Henry resigned.

Yesterday it was announced that his successor Conille was also less than six months later his appointment as prime minister has been dismissed. The transitional council now has businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé appointed as the new Prime Minister.

This nine-member council, together with the Prime Minister, has the task of developing new ones organize national elections. This must be done before February 7, 2026 to happen. The council is plagued by internal and political strife. Like this several members are accused of corruption in a report.

According to UN estimates, the gangs control about 85 percent of the capital in hand. Nearly 4,900 people have died as a result of the violence came. Tens of thousands of others have fled.

This video explains more about the background of gang violence in Haiti: https://nos.nl/l/2544174

* grobi

Comment by Bernd Pickert

Translated from https://taz.de/Trump-erneut-gewaehlt/!6047329/

Trump re-elected

Why though?

Donald Trump's renewed election victory is an absolute catastrophe. But it reveals where the Democratic Party simply didn't want to look.

Trump at his election party in Florida on election night   Photo: Evan Vucci/ap

Germany November 6, 2024 1:41 p.m

This morning started with a shock that many had feared but that few wanted to believe.

Donald Trump, the convicted felon, the candidate who either says nonsense or personal insults, wild threats, misogynistic impossibilities or racist outbursts; Trump, whose economic proposals including mass deportations, if implemented, would plunge the United States into a deep economic and human rights crisis; Trump, whose contempt for democratic rules has been hidden from no one since January 6, 2021 at the latest; This Donald Trump moves into the White House again, wins at least the Senate, and possibly also the House of Representatives. What's more: He is the first Republican since George W. Bush in 2004 to win the so-called "popular vote", i.e. a majority of votes across the country.

And in the background, the masterminds of “Project 2025” are waiting with their agenda to convert the US institutions from a politically neutral government apparatus to a subservient instrument of power and thus destroy everything that actually characterizes the – God knows, imperfect – US democracy for years to come .

None of this can be true. Why? The minority asks themselves.

An election campaign that only motivated their own bubble

No, the majority of Americans have not suddenly forgotten that they actually enjoy living in a democratic country.

Many of Trump's supporters, an expert recently said on a US TV show, love him but don't take him seriously. The Democrats, on the other hand, loathe him – and take him completely seriously. That's why they ran an election campaign that was largely based on warnings against anti-democrats, but that's exactly why it came to nothing outside of their own bubble.

What the Democrats didn't want to notice: In almost all post-election surveys, around 70 percent of those surveyed said they were dissatisfied or angry about the state of the country. And they are saying this not for the first time, but for at least two years.

This is a cry for change, given that the magnitude of Trump's victory still seems relatively moderate. Explaining to people that the economic data was excellent and that they shouldn't be like that wasn't a good idea. Nobody pays rent or buys groceries.

Yes, swapping Joe Biden for Kamala Harris was the right thing to do. Harris at least came within striking distance of the now re-elected Donald Trump. However, it was wrong to assume that the incredibly poor poll numbers for the Democrats since at least 2023 had mainly to do with the clumsiness of the president, who was in office until January 20th.

Of course: Joe Biden would have been better off declaring two years ago that he would not run again. That would have paved the way for open primaries within the Democratic Party, and in this process there would have been the chance to analyze problems differently and catapult someone to the top who is not part of the unpopular Biden administration and develop a program independently of it , could have changed the topic and found a different language.

Would have, would have.

Trump can rule through

Trump can now carry out an unhindered march – even if he is unlikely to deport millions of undocumented workers paying social security contributions any more than he had a wall paid for by Mexico built in 2016.

Nevertheless: He abolished protection against water and air pollution in his first term in office, he calls climate change a lie, he wants to abolish entire authorities such as the Ministry of Education and cut social security. There's no reason to believe he won't.

And: He has another four years to appoint countless right-wing federal judges. There may not be an opposition party that controls at least one chamber of Congress to provide him with guardrails. And on top of that, with its ruling in July, the Supreme Court guaranteed him almost absolute immunity for all official acts.

These are extremely bleak prospects. Especially since Trump's renewed victory has a global impact on the authoritarian right.

Democrats, whether party or civil society, will have their hands full organizing themselves and preventing the worst. This means that they remain on the defensive and, in order to organize majorities in elections at some point, are dependent on the Trump government failing resoundingly - and on the fact that they still have at least enough discourse sovereignty to define this failure.

Trump's election victory is a catastrophe that also causes its own continuation.

Bernd Pickert

Bernd Pickert

Foreign editor

Born in 1965, in the taz foreign editorial team since 1994.
Specialties USA, Latin America, human rights.
2000 to 2012 member of the board of the taz cooperative,
since July 2023 in the moderation team of the taz podcast Bundestalk.
Active in his free time at

* grobi

The North Korean general for Putin's Ukraine war

Credits: Commentary by Fabian Kretschmer

Translated from: https://taz.de/Kommandant-eines-beruechtigten-Korps/!6046601/

The North Korean general for Putin's Ukraine war

The North Korean general for Putin's Ukraine war-8,000 North Korean soldiers are said to have already arrived in the Kursk region of Russia. They are led by General Kim Yong Bok.

8,000 North Korean soldiers are said to have already arrived in the Kursk region of Russia. They are led by General Kim Yong Bok.

Seoul taz | Whenever North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un inspects his troops, General Kim Yong Bok with his stoic facial features is not far away. In images from the Korean news agency KCNA, the uniformed man can be seen pulling out the notepad to write down words from his leader. Such staged photos leave no doubt: the three-star general is part of North Korea's innermost leadership circle.

Now he has been supervised by Kim Jong Un with his most important task to date: he is supposed to build up North Korea's troops in Russia, prepare them for use against Ukraine and get them into position.

Kim Yong Bok's personal life is unknown. One can only speculate about his age: in the photos taken by the state media, he looks as if he is well over 60.

North Korea experts first noticed Kim nine years ago when he gave a speech at a memorial rally for Kim Jong Il - the incumbent leader's late father. Shortly thereafter, he took command of the infamous 11th Army Corps, often called the “Storm Corps.” North Korea's soldiers sent to Russia are presumably recruited from this elite unit. The general also sits on the Central Committee of the Workers' Party

Kim Yong Bok currently also serves as Vice Chief of the General Staff. But he also belongs to the highest leadership circle within the Labor Party. He was elected to its central committee for the first time in 2016.

Kim Yong Bok has been spotted alongside Kim Jong Un in over half a dozen public appearances this year alone. According to the US Department of Defense, at least 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now in the Kursk region of Russia.

On Monday, Ukrainian authorities reported for the first time that North Korean soldiers had come under fire there. The information cannot be independently verified.

South Korea's defense minister recently called North Korean soldiers "cannon fodder mercenaries." Media reports also state that they are physically short and appear weak. Their fighting ability and motivation were also repeatedly questioned.

But experts warn against underestimating the North Korean troops. They shouldn't lack motivation. If even a fraction of the rumored $2,000 monthly wage ends up in their pockets, it would be many times what they receive as wages in North Korea.

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West sees escalation in North Korean troops against Ukraine

https://cdn.nos.nl/image/2024/10/21/1149079/1024x576a.jpg https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.jYawwEMDNPRL9sW7_CCXTQHaEK%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=3d768af81b5e1227c26c709ecf60f1c4956e327c5c89cc575df8a32bad3ca4ca&ipo=images

* Translator's note: Chairman of the State Affairs Committee of the DPRK, Commander-in-Chief of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong-un is sending 12,000 soldiers to Russia for Putin's war of annihilation against Ukraine, while the vast majority of the population of North Korea is on the verge of starvation from poverty. The Russian population, on the other hand, complains about high losses due to the cruel and human-contemptuous war of annihilation, which they secretly call a meat grinder. Two monsters who are very aware of their horrific legacy.

North Korea's interference in Ukraine is 'a serious threat to the international community

South Korea has summoned the Russian ambassador to the country and demanded the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops from Russia. According to South Korea, around 1,500 soldiers have already arrived in Russia and are being trained to fight in Ukraine.

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun warned that Seoul "will respond with all available measures."

According to the Russian ambassador, the cooperation falls within the framework of international law. It is unclear what cooperation this means, because neither Russia nor North Korea has confirmed that troops will fight with the Russian army.

International condemnation

NATO chief Mark Rutte says he is concerned about the developments. He says it would be a "significant escalation" if North Korea sent troops to Ukraine to fight alongside the Russians. He called South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol about cooperation with the country.

The United States and Japan have also condemned military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. South Korea is an ally of the United States and NATO and supports Ukraine. The European Commission said it was "very concerned" by the reports.

“This only illustrates how determined Russia is to escalate its illegal actions against Ukraine, that Russia is absolutely not interested in seeking peaceful solutions,” the spokesperson said. Foreign Minister Veldkamp also warns that the deployment of North Korean troops would represent a "serious escalation".

Tires tightened

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Russian president has strengthened ties with North Korea. There are strong suspicions that Kim supplies weapons to Russia. The United States and Ukraine say they have also been deployed on the battlefield. North Korea and Russia deny this.

According to the South Korean intelligence service NIS, North Korea wants to deploy 12,000 troops in Russia. "This is a serious threat not only to South Korea, but also to the international community," the South Korean deputy minister responded to the news.

According to the intelligence service, North Korean soldiers would be provided with Russian uniforms and IDs from Siberian regions such as Yakutia and Buryatia. The local population in Siberia partly has similar physical characteristics as the population in North Korea.

Moscow-Pyongyang cooperation

During Putin's visit to Pyongyang in June, Russia and North Korea announced that the countries want to cooperate more economically and militarily. Putin also said that the agreement states that Russia and North Korea will help each other if either country experiences aggression against one of them.

If North Korean troops are actually fighting in Ukraine, it will be the first time that North Korean troops are active on European soil.

* following the last message: https://nos.nl/l/2541251
* the Reuters article on the topic: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/what-we-know-about-north-korean-troops-joining-russias-war-ukraine-2024-10-21/

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China and India rapprochement: agreement on patrols along disputed border

China and India have agreed on how soldiers will patrol the disputed border in the Himalayas. The disputed border has led to tensions between the two nuclear powers for decades.

The last violent confrontation was in 2020. Patrols from both countries encountered each other on terrain they believed was part of their territory. A total of 24 soldiers were killed, twenty of whom were from India.

The confrontation soured the already difficult relationship between China and India, both of which have tens of thousands of troops stationed in the area. The agreement that has now been concluded is a sign of rapprochement between the two countries.

Weeks of negotiations

Indian Foreign Minister Vikram Misri announced the agreement at a press conference on the eve of the BRICS summit, the group of nine countries of which China is a member. He said it had been negotiated for weeks. China has not yet said anything about the agreement.

The agreement states, among other things, that both countries will "act with restraint". Agreements have also been made about patrols. Misri did not provide further details. According to the AP news agency, both countries have withdrawn troops from the border area.

https://cdn.nos.nl/image/2024/10/21/1149101/1024x576a.jpg

Line of current control

Both China and India do not speak of a border, but of a line of control that they call 'the line of current control'. It is more than 3,400 kilometers long and runs through wildly flowing rivers, lakes and moving glaciers. Both China and India claim the area.

In 1962, the two countries fought a war in the Himalayas for over a month, and there have been several armed confrontations since then.

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Nuclear power for artificial intelligence

The double dystopia

AI consumes a lot of energy.

The corporations want to use nuclear power for this.

Crazy? https://taz.de/picture/7306818/1900/36799034-1.jpeg

Pretty baddest AI: Agent Smith from “The Matrix Revolutions”   Photo: mary evans/warner/imago

Probably ..

But maybe it will help

19.10.2024 19:19
Johannes Drosdowski

Commentary by Johannes Drosdowski

translated from german:https://taz.de/Atomkraft-fuer-die-Kuenstliche-Intelligenz/!6041039/

First Things First

Nuclear power is fun. Just not: nuclear waste and nuclear disasters. Anyone who thinks further than the nearest socket should actually fear this. Nevertheless, Google, Microsoft and Amazon are now increasingly relying on nuclear power again. For artificial intelligence, of all things. They cause a lot of energy demand in the companies' data centers. And their solution is nuclear power from recommissioned and completely new mini-power plants in the USA. Oh dear, a double dystopia: nuclear catastrophe and AI.

In pop culture - let's stay there, because real emotions are much more complex - the AI dystopia is usually based on the AI becoming independent (also in terms of character) and then a) looking for freedom like in “Ex Machina” or b) its hunger for energy wants to breastfeed like in the “Matrix” series. When it comes to character, willingness to act, consciousness... we're not there (yet?). But fantasy does not provide us with facts, but rather with truths about feelings. In “The Matrix,” people in artificial amniotic sacs act as living batteries to supply the machines. To do this, people themselves need energy and – boom! – we are having lunch à la “Soylent Grün”, because the machines feed people via tubes with other people processed into mush. We consume ourselves.

The fear of self-consuming in favor of the machine has been wandering around in films and comics for a while. In “The Matrix,” the robots eat. With Romero and Co. the zombies. The machine, the brutal, murderous, criticized system there was initially slavery, then capitalism.

Are they allowed to do that?

AI is not slavery. AI won't eat our brains or squeeze us into artificial amniotic sacs. But we have reached a point where corporations are tapping into energy sources for AI that should have dried up and been sealed long ago. Because even if there is no catastrophe in the power plants - and experience contradicts optimism here - the waste will still remain. And in the long term it will consume the healthy future of our planet and thus that of humanity.

So the ethical question arises: Are corporations even allowed to do this? Are we even allowed to do that? Because even if Google, Microsoft and Amazon decide where they get their energy from, we also use the energy.

"Only what receives energy can grow. We can determine which direction. Maybe in this one: AIs in the fight against climate change. We humans have not yet found any solutions on our own"

Many of us ordinary citizens consciously use AI to chat with us. So that she summarizes a super long text for us. Or briefly explains how I cook perfect, vegan spaetzle. Or for relationship tips. A single search query on ChatGPT will consume 2.9 watt-hours, the Electric Power Research Institute calculated. Ten times more than a Google query. If you google it 20 times, you will use as much energy as an energy-saving lamp in an hour. Anyone who asks ChatGPT to rephrase their work email might as well turn on a light for 30 minutes. Unfortunately I wouldn't get a better email for that.

It's all about the masses: In November 2023, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said that 100 million people worldwide were using ChatGPT every week. But they don't just ask one question. The portal ingenieur.de from the publisher VDI Fachmedien, a media company for engineers, expects 214 million daily inquiries. This consumes over half a million kilowatt hours of energy per day.

Das Problem mit der Eigenverantwortung

AI therefore urgently needs to become more energy efficient. There needs to be more green coding, smarter data centers, more climate-conscious AI training. And yes: Maybe we don't have to ask the AI everything. But it would be wrong to just rely on personal responsibility now.

Because our dealings with Corona (“Well, I don’t wear a mask on the train anymore!”) and climate change (“Oh, that one flight to Italy”) have shown that we humans are not particularly good at personal responsibility. And the fiction of the zombie series shows that anyone who shoots against capitalism in a brain rush will quickly be bitten. It takes communities that give themselves rules and set boundaries. In our case perhaps: rules for corporations. So that nuclear power, for example, is not completely wasted on chatbots, but instead flows into progress. Maybe like this: 70 percent of the energy must be used for science, education and medicine and the corresponding AIs must be usable free of charge.

Only what receives energy can grow. We can determine which direction. Maybe in this one: AIs in the fight against climate change. We humans obviously haven't found any solutions on our own that we can or want to actually implement. Maybe the AIs will come up with something. Ideally without nuclear power. But the main thing: without people as batteries. (Translator's addition: as in the matrix.. )

Johannes Drozdowski Editor media/digital Editor for media and digital. Otherwise, freelance journalist and teamer on the subject of conspiracy narratives and fake news. Likes comics, zombies and the internet. Mastodon: @[email protected]

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Friday January 19, 2024, 4:45 PM

Drug country The Netherlands is to blame for the explosion of violence in Ecuador, experts say

The explosion of violence in Ecuador reached a new low last night: the prosecutor who investigated the attack on a TV studio earlier this month was shot dead. Everything points to a liquidation by drug criminals. Residents and experts have long seen a growing influence of drug gangs in Ecuador. The fact that the South American country became a hub in the drug trade is also partly the responsibility of major buyers such as the Netherlands, they say.

Haven of peace

"You always had to be careful here and not walk across the street with your phone in your hand, for example", says Dutch doctor Els van der Linden, who has lived in Ecuador's largest city Guayaquil for sixteen years. "But from the pandemic onwards it became more and more dangerous."

"Until three years ago, Ecuador was known as a haven of peace between Colombia and Peru", confirms Ecuador expert Maria Gabriela Palacio (Leiden University). "Until then, we had managed to escape quite well from the high levels of violence in our neighboring countries."

Turnaround

According to Gabriela Palacio, this was mainly due to agreements between the government and drug gangs. "Three years ago, those agreements were broken and we saw a huge increase in violence." Professor Ramiro Avila (Simón Bolívar University) is a former judge of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador and has noticed a tense calm in the country for a long time. He also says that the "relative peace" was only possible because the government turned a blind eye to the drug trade. That policy has changed recently. Last August, a presidential candidate was shot dead, prompting the new government of President Daniel Noboa to promise to take tough action against the gangs.

Zo werd Ecuador het nieuwe cocaïne-knooppunt

This is how Ecuador became the new cocaine hub (dutch)

A few weeks ago the situation got further out of hand. The leader of one of the country's largest drug gangs escaped from a prison in Guayaquil. President Noboa then declared a state of emergency and announced that he would deploy the army against the drug gangs. The incidents of violence followed in quick succession. For example, armed men invaded a TV studio and riots broke out in six prisons. Prison staff were taken hostage, police officers kidnapped and notorious prisoners escaped.

Public life has come to a standstill in many places. "We don't go out in the evening anymore," says Van der Linden. “We live in fear.” She is pleased with President Noboa's tough action, even though that approach produces violent counter-reactions. “Finally the president is doing something to change the situation.”

Scare is their system

Former judge Avila agrees with her. "The drug criminals have been corrupting the government for years, they are part of it. The murdered prosecutor tried to tackle organized crime, and had to pay for it with his death. With his murder, the gangs are trying to scare the system. The government has "We have no choice but to take back the monopoly on violence from the gangs by force."

However, the government should not go too far, Avila warns. He fears that many poor Ecuadorians living in slums are being unfairly targeted. "We are already seeing mass arrests, unwarranted searches and excessive force. Soon we will have thousands of prisoners who we have nowhere to place."

https://cdn.nos.nl/image/2024/01/19/1045004/960x720a.jpg

Soldiers in Quito stop a boy to check whether he has tattoos that indicate gang membership

Much more is needed than tough military action, the experts say. Ecuador is in an economic crisis, causing poverty to increase. Professor Gabriela Palacio: "The government must address the socio-economic insecurities that drive young people to join drug gangs."

But other countries also have a responsibility, they emphasize. Certainly also the Netherlands, as one of the largest drug importers.

___________________________________________________________________________

Western countries have an important role. They decide what is illegal and what is not.

Maria Gabriela Palacio, Ecuador expert

Ecuador is by far the most important country of origin for cocaine intercepted in the port of Rotterdam, which in turn is an important transit port for cocaine for Europe. Avila thinks that agreements between the Netherlands and Ecuador, such as the recently concluded customs treaty, can help combat drug smuggling.

But, Avila says, as long as demand in America and Europe remains high and cocaine makes a lot of money, "it is naive to think that the problems can be solved in a few months."

The Dutch are not sufficiently aware of this, says doctor Van der Linden. "In the Netherlands, drugs are of course something to have a fun party. But there is much more to it. A lot of sadness, a lot of violence, a lot of problems."

Legalization?

The war on drugs should therefore not only be fought in the producing countries, says Gabriela Palacio. "Western countries are largely responsible for drug trafficking because they determine what is illegal."

Legalizing and regulating (some) drugs by consumer countries must be part of the solution, she believes. Because it is precisely the illegality of drugs that makes the trade so dangerous, violent and lucrative.

Avila: "The war on drugs has killed a million people in 50 years and corrupted democracies. We must change the recipe for the solution."

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Cocaine production rises to record levels in Colombia

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Cocaine cultivation and production on a farm in Colombia

NOS News•today, 2024-10-19 10:51

In Colombia, coca leaf cultivation has reached record levels. The area where coca leaves are grown increased by ten percent last year. Coca leaves are the main ingredient for cocaine. The UN has been monitoring the extent of coca leaf cultivation in Colombia since 2001. The latest report from the Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that cocaine production has never been this high. In one year, production grew from 1.7 million kilos (2022) to 2.6 million kilos (2023), an increase of 53 percent.

Colombian authorities have been trying to crack down on drug trafficking for years, but the country remains one of the largest cocaine producers in the world. Cocaine production has increased steadily over the past ten years. Most cocaine is destined for Europe and the United States.

The areas in Colombia with the largest increase in cocaine production in 2023 were Cauca and Narino. In both regions, former members of the FARC guerrilla army, which was disbanded in 2017, are active in the drug trade.

FYI about similar developments in Brazil: https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/insurgency-illicit-trade-analyzing-farc-dissidents-cocaine-market
https://smallwarsjournal.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/BRA-Amazon-Forests-Destroyed_2.jpg
Brazilian Federal Police eradicating illicit crops in Maranhão in the Amazon region where FARC-D and Brazilian Gang Operations Converge (Photo: Brazilian Federal Police, November 2023)

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NOS News•today, 6:13 PM

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Source: South Korean intelligence service NIS

North Korea is sending 12,000 troops to Ukraine, South Korea says

translated from dutch: https://nos.nl/l/2541251

There are increasing indications that North Korean soldiers are being trained in Russia to support Russian troops in Ukraine. According to the South Korean intelligence service NIS, a first group of 1,500 soldiers has been moved to Russia.

These are said to be members of an elite unit who were sent to military bases in the far east of the country on a Russian Navy transport ship between October 8 and 13. Released satellite images from the NIS allegedly show North Korean soldiers at army bases in Vladivostok and Usurisk, among others.

According to NIS, North Korea plans to send around 12,000 troops to Ukraine to assist Russia in the war. If the information is correct, it will be the first time that North Korean troops have been active on European soil.

Siberian IDs

According to the intelligence service, North Korean soldiers would be provided with Russian uniforms and IDs from Siberian regions such as Yakutia and Buryatia. The local population in Siberia partly has similar physical characteristics as the population in North Korea.

It is unclear where the soldiers should be deployed. The head of Ukrainian military intelligence Budanov stated yesterday that North Korean troops will be ready to fight on Ukrainian territory on November 1.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un observes a military exercise

A spokesperson for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol calls the troop movements "a serious threat" to South Korea and the entire international community. According to Ukrainian President Zelensky, there is no doubt that North Korea will become more involved in the war. "It's not just about supplying weapons anymore. It's now even about moving people from North Korea to the occupied territories," he said on Monday. The Kremlin and North Korea have not responded to the statements.

Multiple claims

Ukraine has often accused Russia of deploying North Korean soldiers in the war. Earlier this month, the Kyiv Independent wrote that six North Korean officers had been killed in the occupied Luhansk region. This week, Ukrainian media wrote about a group of North Korean deserters. The soldiers are said to have left their positions in the Russian regions of Bryansk and Kursk.

Strategic partnership

Allies of Ukraine have long been concerned about the close cooperation between Russia and North Korea. During a visit in June, Russian President Putin signed a 'strategic partnership' with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Since the start of the war, there have been strong suspicions that Kim is supplying munitions and ballistic missiles to Russia on a large scale. The United States and Ukraine say they have also been deployed on the battlefield. North Korea and Russia have always contradicted the reports.

* grobi

Mitigating Climate Change – What is Necessary and Possible

https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/styles/800w400h/public/medien/5612/bilder/grafik_herausforderungen_211217.jpg?itok=71kHJwF8&c=763da9270090495251b04b66a2ee8d59

The third part of the 6th IPCC assessment report assessed the progress in limiting global greenhouse gas emissions and the range of reduction and action options in all sectors. Without rapid political implementation, the global temperature target of 1.5°C by 2100 is no longer achievable. Ambitious climate protection is also the prerequisite for successful climate adaptation.

At the beginning of April, the third part of the 6th Assessment Report (AR 6) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (u2060IPCCu2060) was published. Around 18,000 scientific studies were evaluated to update the AR 5 from 2013/14. A key finding of the IPCC report is that it is currently still possible to limit global warming to 1.5°C in the long term. However, the CO2 budget that we still have left for this can hardly be met given current international climate policy.

An important lever for climate protection is sustainable development: the richest 10% of private households account for up to 45% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. At the same time, the report shows that demand-side mitigation approaches, nature conservation and sustainable system transformations enable immense emissions reductions. We have to decide whether we trust in uncertain future technologies or implement ambitious and sustainable climate protection with the means available

Central message of the IPCC report

Probably the most important message of the IPCC report is that it is still technically and economically possible to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2100 in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement (see Fig. 1). However, this requires an immediate global turnaround as well as profound greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions in all regions of the world and all sectors – i.e. in energy systems, in cities, in agriculture and forestry, in land use, in buildings, in transport and in industry –. Particularly cost-effective and sustainable technologies are available in the energy sector, especially solar and wind energy (see Fig. 2). Immediate climate action compatible with the Paris Agreement would also only slightly reduce global GDP growth. The potential damage caused by “climate change” is not taken into account, nor are the adaptation costs avoided.

The third part of the 6th IPCC assessment report entitled “Mitigation of Climate Change” offers an internationally coordinated and objective basis for science-based political decisions in climate protection. The report also analyzes the different options in the context of sustainable development.

https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/styles/800w400h/public/medien/5929/bilder/globale_thg-emissionen.png?itok=hxKLApHU

Global GHG emissions modeled pathways and projected emissions outcomes

Global GHG emissions from modeled pathways and projected emissions outcomes from short-term policy assessments for 2030. Translated and modified from IPCC, 2022: Summary for Policymakers, Figure SPM.4. In: Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Source: IPCC 2022: Summary for Policymakers. Figure SPM.4.

The current National Mitigation Plans (NDCs) lead to global warming of 2.8°C (2.1°C-3.4°C) by 2100. The report shows an implementation gap, an emissions (or ambition) gap and indirectly also a credibility gap. In order to stay below global warming of 1.5°C, emissions must have peaked before 2025 and reduced by 43% in 2030 compared to 2019 become. In order to stay below global warming of 2°C, emissions must also reach their peak before 2025 and be reduced by 27% in 2030 compared to 2019 .

The key messages of the IPCC report

https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/styles/800w400h/public/medien/5929/bilder/potentieller_beitrag_zur_nettoemissionsminderung.png?itok=1oiHa06d

Potential contribution to net emissions reduction in 2030

Potential contribution to net emissions reduction in 2030 exemplified for various areas of the energy sector (visible by the bar length, given in gigatons of CO2 equivalent per year) as well as the balanced costs of individual options (visible by the reddish color gradation, given in US dollars per ton of CO2 equivalent). ). Source: IPCC 2022: Summary for Policymakers. Figure SPM.7. In: Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The long path from the creation to the adoption of the IPCC report

Over three years, a core team of 278 authors from 65 countries evaluated more than 18,000 scientific studies and then prepared the report. This was evaluated in three rounds of reviews by experts and governments. To approve the overall report, delegations from the 195 IPCC member states discussed the approximately 60-page Summary for Policymakers (SPM) sentence by sentence with the authors present. After 2 weeks of deliberations on April 4th, 2022, the plenum adopted the SPM and with it the 3,675-page overall report. However, the adoption of the report was delayed by three days because a few delegations required a lot of speaking time with numerous and sometimes repetitive interventions. This resulted in a significant disadvantage in the negotiations, especially for very small (sometimes 1-person) delegations due to continuous meetings, compared to delegations with large numbers of people.

Conclusion on Part III of the 6th IPCC Report

Because of the formal approval of all IPCC member countries, the reports have great political weight in international and national climate policy. Some climate protection scenarios rely on the previously extremely costly and uncertain large-scale application of CCS and CDR. In this way, they are already increasing the risk that comprehensive GHG reductions with reduction options available today will be weakened in favor of uncertain future technologies (so-called mitigation deterrence). However, for sustainable development, accelerated and socially and globally fair climate protection is crucial. On the other hand, improved global framework conditions such as political and regulatory instruments, international cooperation, market instruments (e.g. CO2 pricing), investments, innovations, technology transfer, capacity building and climate-friendly lifestyles provide a basis for improving system transformations in line with sustainable development. Poverty reduction and a secure energy supply can thus be achieved without significant increases in emissions. The most important options lie in the use of solar energy and wind power, as well as in the mobility, building and food sectors, but also particularly in the protection of ecosystems (especially the protection of global forests and moors). What's new in the report is, among other things, the focus on energy and emissions-saving behavior in companies and in everyday life. It is emphasized that climate protection does not have to be a burden, but can also lead to a better quality of life. The report also illustrates the connection between climate protection, sustainable development and “adaptation to climate change”.

Authors:

Mathias Ulrich, Larissa Kleiner, Tobias Herzfeld, Jens Tambke, Achim Daschkeit, Frederik Pischke

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