Anyone

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/18638241

Archived link

Representatives of the North Korean secret services are telling their soldiers in Russia's Kursk Oblast that they are fighting against South Korean troops as well as Ukrainians.

Source: Ri, a 26-year-old North Korean soldier who was captured by the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in an interview with the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.

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Archived link

Representatives of the North Korean secret services are telling their soldiers in Russia's Kursk Oblast that they are fighting against South Korean troops as well as Ukrainians.

Source: Ri, a 26-year-old North Korean soldier who was captured by the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in an interview with the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.

...

The European Commission today approved funding under the European Chips Act for the Infineon Technologies AG Smart Power Fab in Dresden. The official funding approval from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), which is responsible for the disbursement of EU Chips Act funding, is still pending and is expected within the next few months.

Additionally, the Smart Power Fab is already receiving support under the European Commission’s IPCEI ME/CT ("Important Project of Common European Interest on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies") innovation program. The total funding for the Dresden site amounts to around one billion euros. Construction began in March 2023 and is progressing successfully. The Fab opening is planned for 2026.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/18637737

Archived

TLDR:

• China’s military has once again escalated tensions near Australia. A Chinese J-16 fighter dangerously engaged an Australian P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft, releasing flares just 30 meters away—the fifth such incident since 2022.

• Meanwhile, a Chinese naval flotilla, including a Type 055 Renhai cruiser, sailed near Australia’s northeastern maritime approaches, marking Beijing’s growing naval presence beyond the First Island Chain.

• While Canberra insists on respecting international law, China’s continued provocations raise serious concerns about regional stability. With China targeting smaller nations like Australia, how should Defence and the Albanese government respond to these growing threats?

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/18637737

Archived

TLDR:

• China’s military has once again escalated tensions near Australia. A Chinese J-16 fighter dangerously engaged an Australian P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft, releasing flares just 30 meters away—the fifth such incident since 2022.

• Meanwhile, a Chinese naval flotilla, including a Type 055 Renhai cruiser, sailed near Australia’s northeastern maritime approaches, marking Beijing’s growing naval presence beyond the First Island Chain.

• While Canberra insists on respecting international law, China’s continued provocations raise serious concerns about regional stability. With China targeting smaller nations like Australia, how should Defence and the Albanese government respond to these growing threats?

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/18637737

Archived

TLDR:

• China’s military has once again escalated tensions near Australia. A Chinese J-16 fighter dangerously engaged an Australian P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft, releasing flares just 30 meters away—the fifth such incident since 2022.

• Meanwhile, a Chinese naval flotilla, including a Type 055 Renhai cruiser, sailed near Australia’s northeastern maritime approaches, marking Beijing’s growing naval presence beyond the First Island Chain.

• While Canberra insists on respecting international law, China’s continued provocations raise serious concerns about regional stability. With China targeting smaller nations like Australia, how should Defence and the Albanese government respond to these growing threats?

Archived

TLDR:

• China’s military has once again escalated tensions near Australia. A Chinese J-16 fighter dangerously engaged an Australian P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft, releasing flares just 30 meters away—the fifth such incident since 2022.

• Meanwhile, a Chinese naval flotilla, including a Type 055 Renhai cruiser, sailed near Australia’s northeastern maritime approaches, marking Beijing’s growing naval presence beyond the First Island Chain.

• While Canberra insists on respecting international law, China’s continued provocations raise serious concerns about regional stability. With China targeting smaller nations like Australia, how should Defence and the Albanese government respond to these growing threats?

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/18473159

Archived

The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) have released their H2 2024 biannual review of China’s coal projects, which finds that coal is still holding strong despite skyrocketing clean energy additions in 2024.

Even as China’s clean energy surged in 2024 and became a key economic driver, solar and wind utilisation dropped sharply in Q4 2024, which was not expected or explained by weather conditions, and coal remains strong, which ultimately goes against President Xi’s 2021 pledge to phase down coal over the following five years.

China approved 66.7 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacity in 2024, with approvals picking up in the second half after a slower start to the year. At the same time, 94.5 GW of new coal power projects started construction and 3.3 GW of suspended projects resumed construction in 2024, the highest level since 2015, signalling a substantial number of new plants will come online in the next 2-3 years, further solidifying coal’s role in the power system.

...

Key findings:

• Coal power permits and new project activity remain high despite some signs of slowing. In 2024, 66.7 GW of new coal power capacity was permitted – lower than previous years but still well above the levels seen in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, new and revived coal power proposals totalled 68.9 GW, down from 117 GW in 2023 and 146 GW in 2022, suggesting a potential cooling in project initiation.
• Coal power construction starts reached their highest level since 2015. 94.5 GW of new coal capacity began construction, the most since 2015, highlighting continued momentum in project development despite President Xi Jinping’s pledge in 2021 to ‘strictly control coal power projects’. However, actual commissioning has slowed, with 30.5 GW coming online so far, down from 49.8 GW last year but in line with 2021 and 2022 levels.
• China’s coal power expansion contrasts with global trends. While China continues to add new capacity, the global coal fleet outside China shrank by 9.2 GW in 2024, reinforcing China’s dominant role in shaping the future of coal power. China now accounts for 93% of global construction starts for coal power in 2024.
• Long-term coal power contracts are reinforcing coal’s dominance at the expense of renewables. Electricity buyers locked into long-term coal power contracts face penalties if they fail to purchase contracted volumes, discouraging them from prioritising clean energy. With new coal capacity coming online, guaranteed operating hours under pre-signed agreements further limit grid space for renewables, delaying the transition to a cleaner energy mix.
• Coal mining companies are playing a dominant role in financing new coal power projects. In 2024, more than 75% of newly approved coal power capacity was backed by coal mining companies or energy groups with coal mining operations, artificially driving up coal demand even when market fundamentals do not justify it. This not only reinforces reliance on coal but also risks undermining central government policy targets for curbing coal consumption and accelerating the energy transition.
• Despite policy intentions for coal power to support renewable integration, 2024 approvals show a shift away from this role, with many projects justified by local governments based on economic development and local energy security instead. While some policies promote coal power flexibility retrofits, long-term contracts and the inherent limitations of coal plants regarding low-load operation and intra-day cycling discourage coal plants from performing a true regulating function.

Archived

The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) have released their H2 2024 biannual review of China’s coal projects, which finds that coal is still holding strong despite skyrocketing clean energy additions in 2024.

Even as China’s clean energy surged in 2024 and became a key economic driver, solar and wind utilisation dropped sharply in Q4 2024, which was not expected or explained by weather conditions, and coal remains strong, which ultimately goes against President Xi’s 2021 pledge to phase down coal over the following five years.

China approved 66.7 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacity in 2024, with approvals picking up in the second half after a slower start to the year. At the same time, 94.5 GW of new coal power projects started construction and 3.3 GW of suspended projects resumed construction in 2024, the highest level since 2015, signalling a substantial number of new plants will come online in the next 2-3 years, further solidifying coal’s role in the power system.

...

Key findings:

• Coal power permits and new project activity remain high despite some signs of slowing. In 2024, 66.7 GW of new coal power capacity was permitted – lower than previous years but still well above the levels seen in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, new and revived coal power proposals totalled 68.9 GW, down from 117 GW in 2023 and 146 GW in 2022, suggesting a potential cooling in project initiation.
• Coal power construction starts reached their highest level since 2015. 94.5 GW of new coal capacity began construction, the most since 2015, highlighting continued momentum in project development despite President Xi Jinping’s pledge in 2021 to ‘strictly control coal power projects’. However, actual commissioning has slowed, with 30.5 GW coming online so far, down from 49.8 GW last year but in line with 2021 and 2022 levels.
• China’s coal power expansion contrasts with global trends. While China continues to add new capacity, the global coal fleet outside China shrank by 9.2 GW in 2024, reinforcing China’s dominant role in shaping the future of coal power. China now accounts for 93% of global construction starts for coal power in 2024.
• Long-term coal power contracts are reinforcing coal’s dominance at the expense of renewables. Electricity buyers locked into long-term coal power contracts face penalties if they fail to purchase contracted volumes, discouraging them from prioritising clean energy. With new coal capacity coming online, guaranteed operating hours under pre-signed agreements further limit grid space for renewables, delaying the transition to a cleaner energy mix.
• Coal mining companies are playing a dominant role in financing new coal power projects. In 2024, more than 75% of newly approved coal power capacity was backed by coal mining companies or energy groups with coal mining operations, artificially driving up coal demand even when market fundamentals do not justify it. This not only reinforces reliance on coal but also risks undermining central government policy targets for curbing coal consumption and accelerating the energy transition.
• Despite policy intentions for coal power to support renewable integration, 2024 approvals show a shift away from this role, with many projects justified by local governments based on economic development and local energy security instead. While some policies promote coal power flexibility retrofits, long-term contracts and the inherent limitations of coal plants regarding low-load operation and intra-day cycling discourage coal plants from performing a true regulating function.

Romania, alongside other European states, was targeted by acts of "sabotage" characteristic of Russian tactics throughout 2024, according to a recent report from DIICOT. The goal of these hybrid attacks was to test NATO countries' defense preparedness and identify weaknesses in infrastructure, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism said.

"Since 2022, at least 50 incidents have occurred in 13 European countries that could be Russian hybrid operations. These include cases of espionage, diversion, vandalism, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and three attacks on underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea," DIICOT stated.

Romanian prosecutors indicate that Russia has changed its tactics in launching hybrid attacks, no longer sending its agents into NATO states but instead recruiting random contractors via chat groups on the Telegram app in exchange for money.

"Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and Sweden have been affected by hybrid attacks. In most cases, there were no casualties, although avoiding casualties is not a priority for Russian intelligence services," DIICOT explained.

...

[This is a comment by Andi Hoxhaj Lecturer in Law, King's College London, UK.]

On November 1 2024, the roof of a newly €55 million renovated railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second biggest city, collapsed and killed 15 people. The deaths sparked Serbia’s largest wave of student-led anti-government protests since Yugoslavia’s disintegration in 2000.

The protests pose the most serious threat to Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić’s power since he became prime minister in 2014, and president in 2017. The protest movement has highlighted Vučić’s growing authoritarian rule and widespread corruption in Serbia.

Serbians believe that the deadly roof collapse was caused by government corruption. The station was renovated by a Chinese-led consortium as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative investments and growing political ties with Serbia. The Chinese consortium and Vučić refused to publish the railway station restoration procurement contract after protesters demanded it.

...

The protesters have four demands: the publication of all procurement documents concerning the renovation of the station, a stop to the prosecution of students arrested during the protests, the prosecution of police and security forces involved in attacking students during the protests and a 20% increase in the budget for higher education.

However, the Serbian government and media — most of which Vučić controls through a network of political patronage and cronyism – are downplaying the protests and threatening students.

...

Russia and China have fully supported Vučić’s claims that Serbia is the target of a western plot to orchestrate the protesters and overthrow Vučić.

...

The EU must also publicly support student protesters who want Serbia to become more democratic and accountable. After all, the students are fighting for the very ideals on which the EU was founded.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused Russia of "offending the entire Italian nation" on Friday as she stood by comments by the Italian president that compared modern-day Russia to Nazi Germany.

In a speech last week, President Sergio Mattarella criticised the "wars of aggression" that led to World War Two. "This was the project of the Third Reich in Europe. The current Russian aggression against Ukraine is of this nature," he said.

Reacting to those statements with some delay, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday lambasted Mattarella's remarks as "blasphemous inventions".

Meloni said in a strongly-worded statement: "The insults of the spokeswoman (...) offend the entire Italian nation, which the head of state represents."

"I express my full solidarity, as well as that of the entire government, to President Mattarella, who has always firmly condemned the aggression perpetrated against Ukraine," she added.

Italy has traditionally been one of the countries in Europe with the closest political and economic ties to Russia, but under Meloni it has firmly stood by Ukraine, including with military aid.