UK urged to bolster Arctic defense as grey-zone threats rise: report

British UAV makes ready for take-off from a U.K warship in Arctic Norway. 

Photo: Royal Navy


The U.K. needs to prioritize military investments that will allow it to better respond to activities by Russia and China in the North, says a recent report from the by the U.K.’s International Relations and Defence Committee.

Eye on the Arctic
By Eilís Quinn

December 12, 2023

“We need to prepare for scenarios in which the Arctic becomes much more contested and subject to conflict,” Lord Ashton of Hyde, chair of the committee, said in a statement.

“The Arctic is a very challenging environment to operate in and requires specialised skills. It is vital that we maintain sufficient equipment and regular cold-weather training so that those skills are maintained and consolidated.”

The committee characterizes the present U.K. Arctic policy as “well-calibrated,” emphasizing the ongoing unpredictability of the region. But with increased accessibility due to climate change and ongoing strategic maneuvering by China and Russia for influence in the North, the report underscores the importance of Britain acquiring the requisite military equipment and resources.

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Cold Response 2022 was NATO’s largest Arctic exercise in decades. The British submarine in Lyngen, northern Norway, was one of many vessels and about 35,000 soldiers from 28 countires taking part. 

Photo: Royal Navy

This readiness is crucial for responding promptly to a spectrum of scenarios, including environmental disasters, search and rescue operations, as well as potential challenges posed by Beijing and Moscow, the committee said.

“UK scenario planning will need to consider the possibility that China could in future seek to establish a military presence in the Arctic,” the report said. “The Government needs to prepare for this and other developments to ensure that it can adapt and respond to changed circumstances.”
Submarine capabilities need to keep pace with Russia

The United Kingdom and the United States are the only NATO countries that can currently send nuclear submarines under the ice cap for patrols, but the report says that Russia’s new generation of submarines are “significantly quieter and harder to detect” and that it’s imperative Britain keep pace.

From the bridge onboard a British warship sailing into the Barents Sea. 

Photo: Royal Navy

“We welcome the UK Government’s increased defence commitments to the region, including the recently announced plans for deeper collaboration with Nordic partners to combat hybrid threats,” the committee said. “The UK Government remains committed to holding cold weather training and military exercises in the High North.

“We are concerned, however, that the UK has insufficient key military assets, such as submarines, maritime patrol or airborne early warning aircraft, to support this increased focus on the Arctic alongside the UK’s growing interest in other regions such as the Indo-Pacific.”

Grey-zone activities need attention

The report stresses the low the possibility of conventional warfare in the North but that the country needs to be alert to hybrid threats like maritime sabotage, GPS attacks, cyber attacks and information warfare.

“While it is not in Russia’s interest to start a conventional conflict in the Arctic, sub-threshold activity and accidental escalation represent significant risks to the region’s security,” the report said.

“Russian sub-threshold activity in the High North is a significant and growing threat. The UK and its allies should prepare contingency plans to detect, deter and respond to hybrid and ‘grey-zone activities’, and consult on how to best do this in situations when public attribution is not possible.”

The International Relations and Defence Committee conducted an inquiry into the Arctic this year, prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent diplomatic and security implications affecting Arctic cooperation.

Their report was published on November 29.

This story is posted on the Barents Observer as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.

 

China set record for car production

12 December 2023 

By Alimat Aliyeva

In January-October 2023, China produced about 21 million passenger cars for the first time, Azernews reports, citing international media outlets.

In January-October, China produced 20.7 million cars, which is an absolute record for the same period in previous years and more than 20% higher than the results of 2019 before the pandemic.

International media outlets said that at the same time, things are not so good in the European Union and Britain against the background of anti-Russian sanctions: in the first 10 months of this year, production lags behind the indicator by 22.5%.

Among European countries, car production declined the most this year in Finland, Slovenia, Romania, the Netherlands and France.

The events of the last four years have had a painful impact on the dynamics of car sales in Europe – the result for 10 months of this year was 20.22% lower than in 2019.

However, China has steadily increased its dynamics: this year, not only production has increased in the country, but also sales. Sales increased by 20% to 20.6 million units.

China's automotive industry employs about 30 million people, which is twice as many as in Europe (12.9 million people). At the same time, the number of people directly involved in their production - a decrease of 10% over the past few years - is observed against the background of the sad situation related to the production of cars in Europe.

The Biodiversity of India’s Siang Valley Rediscovered After an Infamous Colonial Expedition MASSACRE

A red velvet worm, jeweled corpse flower, and other rare species were found while retracing the route of the bloody 1911-12 Abor Expedition.

BY DEEPA PADMANABAN

ATLAS OBSCURA

DECEMBER 12, 2023

The Siang River is visible at lower left in this image of the rugged valley that bears its name

ARMED WITH A WALKING STICK, Priyadarsanan Rajan tackled a challenging 45-degree slope in the beautiful but rugged Siang Valley, within India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. He was several miles deep in the remote Mouling National Park, traversing steep terrain while enduring relentless rain, leeches, and blood-sucking flies.Halfway up the hill, under a rock, he found a strange creature: a long, rich brown, worm-like animal with no eyes, about two dozen pairs of legs, and long antennae.

Unsure of what his find was, the entomologist put the creature in a specimen jar and took it back to his lab at Ashoka Trust Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bengaluru. His chance discovery would be one of dozens of specimens of flora and fauna, either new to science or presumed lost, that were found during an unprecedented exploration of the Siang Valley—a project that also retraced the steps of a much earlier expedition that had mixed scientific discovery with deadly colonial-era brutality.

Rajan had found a velvet worm, one of a group of “living fossils” so ancient—they’ve been around more than 650 million years—that they have no close living relatives. The species he spotted on the hillside, the red velvet worm or Typhloperipatus williamsoni, was first described in 1911 by British biologist Stanley Kemp, who was a part of the infamous earlier expedition. After Kemp’s discovery more than 110 years ago, however, it remained an enigma until Rajan’s specimen.

Stanley Kemp’s sketches of the red velvet worm, Typhloperipatus williamsoni, were published in a lengthy account of the 1911-12 scientific expedition into the Siang Valley. 

PUBLIC DOMAIN

“Its rediscovery after a century is important not just biologically, but also because of its evolutionary position,” says Prathapan KD, an entomologist at Kerala Agriculture University who was not part of the expedition. (Like many people in southern India, Prathapan goes by his first name and uses initials for his family name.) Prathapan adds that T. williamsoni is the first—and so far only—species in the genus to be described on the Indian subcontinent.

Kemp’s initial discovery occurred amid a British military operation in the area against the Indigenous Adi community, whom the British called “Abors.” In March 1911, British officer Noel Williamson—after whom Kemp would name the red velvet worm—led a party of some 40 men through the part of the region that was under British control. The group crossed into a semiautonomous tribal zone, against the advice of people in the nearby Adi village of Kebang. A rumor, possibly groundless, spread that Williamson was preparing to punish Kebang for warning him away. When word of the alleged plan reached the villagers, they killed Williamson and most of his men.

Retaliation for the deaths arrived in October 2011, when the British launched an operation they called the Abor Expedition, during which several villages were attacked and an unknown number of Adi people massacred.

An unidentified Adi village burns in the background of this photograph of members of a Gurkha regiment taken by DHR Gifford during the Abor Expedition of 1911-12. 

COURTESY NATIONAL ARMY MUSEUM (U.K.)

At the same time these horrific events were unfolding, a group of botanists, biologists, and geographers, who were part of the same expedition, were surveying the region’s biodiversity and topography. They were among the first Europeans to explore the Siang Valley’s vast and undisturbed forests, lofty mountains, and deep gorges. Kemp and other members of the scientific survey documented species of worms, frogs, insects, and rare plants never before seen in South Asia. While difficult to fathom in retrospect, brutal military operations and scientific expeditions often occurred hand-in-hand during the colonial era.

“The Abor Expedition is a historical one. It was punitive, but also a scientific exploration,” says University of Calcutta ecologist Parthib Basu, who was not involved in the recent ATREE project.

The British expedition, which was conducted during a single winter and revealed only a fraction of the region’s biodiversity, proved important for providing at least a baseline of the valley’s ecosystems. More than a century later, the ATREE team, consisting of botanists, herpetologists, entomologists, and others, used the earlier surveys as a starting point for their more extensive project.

The entomologists collected thousands of specimens, including potential new-to-science species.

During three different periods in 2022 and early 2023, Rajan and his entomology team alone collected thousands of specimens, including more than 120 species of ants, 60 species of dung beetles, and 180 species of parasitic wasps. At least 30 of the finds are new to India. The teams’ identification work continues, with potential new-to-science species being analyzed, including a blue ant and a second species of red velvet worm.

Other ATREE teams made important discoveries about the valley’s plants. Despite being nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas and at least 3,000 feet above sea level, the region’s flora is closer to that of Southeast Asia than other areas of India. ATREE expedition botanist Ganesan Rengaian says that the valley’s plants tend to be more similar to those in Indonesia and Malaysia because of a topographical quirk—something British botanist Isaac Henry Burkill observed during the 1911 expedition.

The Siang River, which originates in the Himalayas, cuts a deep gorge to the southeast, forming the valley. The depth and direction of the gorge, combined with regional weather patterns, creates a virtual greenhouse that allows many species of flora to thrive outside their normal ranges.

“This was intriguing for me, how the climate changed the distribution of certain plant species,” Rengaian says.

The parasitic plant Sapria himalayana, also known as the jeweled corpse flower, was one of several rare species found in the Siang Valley by ATREE botanists. DJKITIWAT, CC BY-SA 4.0/WIKIMEDIA

Rengaian followed Burkill’s path along the river, including location descriptions for certain tree species. His team was able to rediscover many of the British botanist’s finds, including Diospyros apiculata, with spiky orange fruits, and the rare subtropical Xanthophyllum burkillii, named for Burkill and sporting five-petaled flowers and roundish fruits.

The team also found the stunning Sapria himalayana, or jeweled corpse flower, a rare parasitic plant, and a tree that Rengaian declined to discuss in detail, pending peer review, but suggested may be a species last described by Burkill and thought to be extinct.

The ATREE team’s finds—which will take years to identify and analyze—are particularly important as development threatens the valley’s biodiversity: Pristine forests are being cut to make way for plantations, and there are controversial plans to dam the Siang River for the country’s largest hydropower project. “There is a chance of losing the forest and plants,” says Rengaian.

As development spreads across the region, the ATREE team’s work, which built on the discoveries of a colonial-era expedition tainted by violence, may become a new baseline for understanding how much of the Siang Valley’s biodiversity is lost in the coming years.

Unusual Boxes and 7,000-Year-Old Trove Found Locked in Ice

Along with obsidian that dazzled scientists in Canada.

BY MEG ST-ESPRIT

ATLAS OBSCURA

DECEMBER 12, 2023


One of nine ice patches released objects from 6200–5300 years ago. DUNCAN MCLAREN

NORTHERN CANADA IS KNOWN FOR its blustery weather, dramatic landscape, and plentiful ice. But with an unprecedented thaw in Canada’s Mount Edziza Provincial Park the past few years, objects began emerging from the ice.

Some of the manmade possessions are 7,000 years old, and they belonged to the Tahltan First Nations. Mount Edziza, a volcano located in northwestern British Columbia, has remained a significant hunting ground for the Tahltan nation for thousands of years. With this discovery, archaeologists are now able to gain more insight into what life was like for people here since around 5,000 B.C.

Plenty of obsidian, a volcanic glass formed from cooled lava, was found on the Kitsu Plateau. DUNCAN MCLAREN

There were containers crafted from birch bark, antler ice picks, tools carved from bones, walking sticks, and even a stitched boot. Among the artifacts discovered were also tools fashioned from obsidian, the black glass created by lava flows. Many others are made from materials such as leather, wood, and bone.

His team was initially blinded by the sparkling glass.

It’s a rare find, according to Duncan McLaren, lead archaeologist on the project. “There was such a high density of artifacts. We knew there was obsidian, but we didn’t realize until we had done this project that there were all these organic artifacts that were preserved around the obsidian,” he explains. McLaren says his team was initially blinded by the sparkling glass, but soon learned to train their eyes to find other artifacts.

These objects were so well-preserved and undisturbed in part due to their remote location. “This keeps visitor numbers low and also aids in the protection and preservation of artifacts,” says David Karn, commenting on behalf of the Ministry of Environment.

The stitches are still evident on birch bark container from around 2,000 years ago. DUNCAN MCLAREN

Within nine patches of ice, 56 objects were recovered overall. “Archeologists were able to carbon-date the organic materials, such as the digging sticks and leather items,” says Karn. “Carbon dating provides researchers with an idea of when the tools were made and how they were used.”

Of particular interest to researchers are two bark containers that are believed to be around 2,000 years old. One has detailed stitching along one edge that is still largely intact. The second container is more unique. Sticks are stitched to the inside of the container to reinforce the framework, creating a basket that could bear heavier loads.

The team also found an ice pick, carved from an antler, or ede’ in Tahltan, that was dated at around 5,000 years old—a useful tool for Indigenous residents of a cold, snowy region. Though one end appears to be broken, researchers were able to see the antler had been intentionally sharpened and shaped with a handle for ease of use.

An ice pick carved from an antler was radiocarbon-dated around 4,000 to 5,000 years old. BRENDAN GRAY

The remains of a shoe, which McLaren describes as a moccasin-like boot, consists of complicated stitching and flaps—further evidence that early Tahltan hunters created complex items to thrive in the harsh climate of the region. Of note, says McLaren, is that the design hasn’t changed much through the millenia. “It is very similar to the types people have been wearing historically through the years,” he notes.

As to why these objects surfaced now after millennia encapsulated in ice, researchers attribute it to low snowpack in the region over several years. “It took us over five years to get the funding for this project,” says McLaren, who first began excavating the area in July of 2019. Now that the objects have been recovered, the team is working on study and preservation; the ancient items are very fragile. While housed in a climate-controlled provincial museum at the moment, McLaren says plans are underway to create a museum site in Tahltan territory that is capable of storing the artifacts safely.

A wooden walking staff with a beveled top was found on the surface of the melting ice near Goat Mountain Peak. DUNCAN MCLAREN

The research team worked in conjunction with several other organizations, including the Obsidian Discoveries Tahltan Tene Mehodihi Youth Group Hike. Tene mehodihi translates to “the trail we know,” and the land-based education program seeks to educate Tahltan youth about the history of their nation through exploratory experiences such as this one.

Tene mehodihi translates to “the trail we know.”

“The findings further identify the archeological and cultural significance of the land encompassed within Mount Edziza Park,” says Karn. The Tahltan Central Government was not available for interview at this time, but tourism director Alex Buri says visitors should be aware of several things: Mount Edziza is extremely remote with a harsh climate, and visitors should consider hiring a local guide for exploration. The region is also extremely significant to the Tahltan First Nations people. Visitors should be respectful, not take any objects, and remember that artifacts are protected under provincial law.

Ukraine braces for funding fight with Hungary and US

David Ehl

DW

Dec 12, 2023


Hungary's Viktor Orban threatens to derail EU military aid to Ukraine. And Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy can't rely on ongoing support from the United States either.

Zelenskyy and Orban's exchange at Milei's inauguration in Buenos Aires was a visibly lively one

 Fernando Gens/dpa/picture alliance

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's trip to the Americas has been marked by difficult conversations. On Sunday, the Ukrainian president witnessed the inauguration of his new Argentinian counterpart, right-wing libertarian Javier Milei. Sat near Zelenskyy at the ceremony was none other than the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban.

It didn't take long for a 21-second video clip of them talking to start making the rounds on the internet. You can't hear what the pair are saying, but the body language seems clear. Even from a vantage point as far away as Buenos Aires, Ukraine and Hungary's positions remain miles apart.

Both of them separately commented on their exchange later. In an evening video address, Zelenskyy, who is hoping his country can join the European Union, said that he had presented Ukraine's European policy interests to Orban "as openly as possible".




The Hungarian Prime Minister's spokesperson said that Orban had simply informed Zelenskyy that EU members states were "continuously negotiating with each other" regarding Ukraine's possible accession.

Despite what the neutral diplomatic language might suggest, the stakes are high. On Thursday and Friday, EU leaders are gathering in Brussels to discuss plans for a new €50 billion ($54 billion) aid package for Ukraine as well as the opening of formal accession talks. The meeting is set to be tense, however. Hungary has openly threatened to veto them.

Ukraine in a tough spot

At the start of Ukraine's second winter at war, the country finds itself in possibly the most perilous position it has faced since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

In military terms, the last few months have been defined by attrition rather than territorial gains. In Kyiv, soldiers' wives and relatives recently protested (as have soldiers' families in Russia), demanding combatants be granted a longer break from the frontline after 21 months at war.

Zelenskyy is also reckoning with domestic political critics, not least Mayor of Kyiv Vitaly Klitschko.

And as much of the world's attention has shifted from Ukraine to the fighting in Gaza, the promise of further weapons and aid packages, which are probably vital for Ukraine's survival, is also crumbling.

Against this backdrop, Hungary is now actively taking sides against further military aid. Only a month ago, Orban praised Russia's President Vladimir Putin for "good relations".

In October, Orban held lengthy talks with Vladimir Putin in Beijing. Meanwhile, Hungary's approval of Sweden's accession to NATO is still pending.

Sputnik/Grigory Sysoyev/Pool via REUTERS

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, one of Kyiv's staunchest backers, shared his own interpretation of Orban's behavior on Monday in Brussels.

"The only way I can read the Hungarian position, not just on Ukraine but on many other issues, is that they are against Europe and everything Europe stands for," he told reporters.

Orban has the upper hand as summit nears

Markus Kaim, a researcher from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, sees Orban's threats in the run-up to the summit as "very dangerous" given that important EU decisions are always made by unanimous agreement.

"If Orban rejects Ukraine's membership prospects, there is little the others can do. So he is controlling the levers, directly and indirectly," Kaim told DW.

Ukraine is warning of "devastating consequences" in the event of a Hungarian veto. The people of Ukraine would be extremely demotivated if there is no positive decision, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned on the sidelines of Monday's meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels.


At those talks, EU foreign ministers approved a proposal by the European Commission to transfer €900 million to Hungary without preconditions to deal with the energy crisis.

Kaim sees this as an opportunity for concessions to be made. Hungary could also support the next Ukraine aid package at the EU summit at the end of the week.

"They could possibly delay tackling the question of EU accession candidacy for now," he suggested
Support from the US on thin ice

Hungary is also lobbying on a different political stage against assistance payments to Ukraine. According to a report in the British newspaper The Guardian this week, Hungarian diplomats wanted to meet with US Republican Party politicians in Washington this week.

In parallel, Zelenskyy was trying to meet with the head of the Republicans in the House of Congress, Mike Johnson, on Tuesday. Further support for Ukraine depends on Johnson.
Mike Johnson from Louisiana has been Speaker of the House of Representatives since October, after Republican hardliners ousted his predecessor Kevin McCarthy.Image: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo/picture alliance

After the meeting with Orban, this appointment could be the second uncomfortable debate for Zelenskyy on his diplomatic tour. There are just over 11 months left before the US heads to the polls to select its next president, its House of Representatives and a third of the Senate.

Former president Donald Trump and his supporters in the Republican Party seem to be setting the tone. They are opposed to granting Ukraine massive amounts of aid, as incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden's administration has done.

Biden had already petitioned Congress to release a new tranche in October, but the passage of the budget and approval of a further $61 billion for Ukraine has so far been blocked by the Republicans, who are calling for spending cuts.
'First flare-up' before a possible Trump return

Whether Zelenskyy can bring about a change of heart in Washington ― or whether the Republicans will stick to their hard no to Ukraine support ― remains to be seen.

"Then it would be up to Europe," said Kaim. "It would be the first flare-up of what many people fear after Donald Trump's re-election: The US failing as guarantor of the international security order. And then the burden-sharing between the US and Europe would have to be readjusted."

A definitive "no" from the Republicans in Washington or a veto from Hungary at the EU summit would certainly cause headaches for Ukraine. Germany at least is set to double its military aid to Ukraine from €4 billion to €8 billion in 2024, as German Minister of State for Europe Anna Luehrmann announced Monday.

This article was adapted from the original German.

US Space Force ‘Attacks’ Satellite in Cyber Defense Drill


US Space Force Guardians participate in Moonlighter, an exercise designed to focus on refining their defensive and offensive skill sets. 

Photo: Ethan Johnson/US Space Force

US Space Force ‘Attacks’ Satellite in Cyber Defense Drill

 JUSTER DOMINGO

DECEMBER 12, 2023

The US Space Force (USSF) has conducted a cyber defense exercise using a satellite in orbit as its primary training environment.

The USSF Cyber Guardians used the Moonlighter imaging satellite to simulate malicious attacks and real-time countermeasures to develop new cyberspace defenses.

Real-world threats were replicated by the 527th Space Aggressor Squadron Cyber Flight squad in a controlled environment, while units from six Cyberspace Squadrons and Delta 6 First Detachment deployed strategies to protect the satellite and its critical functions.

The Moonlighter is the world’s first and only hacking sandbox satellite, designed to advance cybersecurity through simulated tests that probe its defenses.
Acknowledging Evolving Threats

The 527th Space Aggressor Squadron adversary cyber flight technical director Captain Eric Lu said that the drills focused on the element of real-time response to emerging threats in space.

“By utilizing the Moonlighter satellite as a testbed for adversarial emulation and defense, it allowed our Guardians to execute defensive cyber tactics, techniques, and procedures to defend an on-orbit satellite, bolstering their readiness to counter sophisticated space-cyber threats,” he said.

Lu added that the exercise served as the primary program to implement the Aggressors squad’s “know, teach, replicate” mission, which seeks to primarily eliminate evolving threats in the space-cyber domain.

The US has been bolstering its presence in space as a way to avoid war in the domain, mapping out launches for reconnaissance and multi-domain defense capabilities. Former Chief of Space Operations General John W. Raymond once stated that space power is greatly needed in order to compete and win in a modern conflict.

Sikkim: Satellite images show devastating Himalayan floods

11th December 2023
By Cherylann Mollan

BBC News, Mumbai

Construction vehicles covered in debris caused by the flash floods in October

New satellite images show the extent of the damage caused by deadly flash floods that hit a village in India's north-eastern state of Sikkim in October.

The photos show how the Teesta river broke its banks and submerged a huge portion of a nearby village.

The devastating floods killed more than 30 people and destroyed the livelihoods of thousands.

Dozens of people are still missing after being swept away.

The flash flood was triggered by a cloudburst, which caused the South Lhonak glacial lake to burst its banks. The excess water flowed into the Teesta river downstream, causing its water level to rise.

The situation worsened after more water was released into the river from a nearby dam. The gushing water from the river wreaked havoc on the Chungthang village, which adjoins its banks.

'I was holding mum's hand but flood water killed her'

How alerts about India floods could have saved lives

Earth observation experts at the University of Leicester in the UK have now released photos that show the devastating impact of the floods.

Of the two satellite photos, one shows the village before the floods and one captures it after.

In the photo taken before the floods, the Chungthang village, located close to the banks of the Teesta river, as well as the Teesta III dam - which is a short distance away from the village - is intact.

 2023 Planet Labs PBCChungthang village before the flood

But on 4 October, the Teesta III dam collapsed due to the bursting of the South Lhonak glacial lake.

In the photo taken 10 days after the flood, one can see the collapsed dam as well as clusters of houses submerged in debris left behind by floodwaters.

Although the image doesn't capture the flood, it depicts the areas that were submerged, revealing the extent of destruction experienced by Chungthang village.

 2023 Planet Labs PBCChungthang village after the flood

Matthew Payne from the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment at the University of Leicester says that the images could be useful in "tackling climate change".

"This catastrophe is a stark reminder of the escalating challenges faced by the verdant Himalayan regions and the increasing magnitude of flooding events necessitates resilient infrastructure capable of tolerating climate-induced excessive rainfall," he says.

Mr Payne adds in a statement that satellite imagery can help track the onset, duration and retreat of floodwaters, providing crucial insights for relief and recovery efforts.

Experts say global warming is causing glaciers to melt faster and this has led to an increase in the water levels of several Himalayan lakes.

They also say that this has led to an urgent need for authorities to install early warning systems in these glacial lakes.

Prior to the floods in Sikkim, several studies had warned that there was a high possibility of South Lhonak lake flooding, the BBC's environment correspondent, Navin Singh Khadka wrote earlier.

The lake's area had expanded more than 2.5 times in the past three decades because of a rapidly melting glacier that feeds it, but authorities had not installed an early warning system.

People working at the Teesta III dam told local media that when they received orders to open the dam's floodgates it was too late as water had already started hitting the infrastructure, causing its eventual collapse.

Sikkim alone has more than 700 small and large glacial lakes and experts say around 20 are at risk of bursting.

 

Later today, I will join Indigenous land defenders in Vancouver to share a story of oppression, resistance, resilience, and hope. Amnesty Canada has just issued a research report in which we document and condemn a years-long campaign of violence, harassment, and racial discrimination inflicted upon the Wet’suwet’en Nation in British Columbia (B.C.). The land defenders at today’s press conference have faced a litany of human rights violations and abuses at the hands of the Canadian and B.C. governments, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and fossil-fuel companies – simply for defending their Indigenous rights. The Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline cuts through the heart of the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s unceded ancestral territory, threatening to sever their profound connection to the land. The Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, the Nation’s traditional authority, have refused to grant their free, prior and informed consent to the project – as is their right under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. When Wet’suwet’en land defenders peacefully defended their lands and waters from the CGL pipeline construction, they were met with violence, intimidation, and unlawful surveillance. Informed by two research trips to Wet’suwet’en territory and dozens of interviews with land defenders and other eyewitnesses, our report sheds light on tactics used by the RCMP. During four militarized raids, officers stormed onto Wet’suwet’en Territory with semi-automatic sniper rifles and police dogs, while helicopters and surveillance drones buzzed overhead. Land defenders reported arbitrary arrests, damaged property, and assaults by masked officers who refused to identify themselves. Our research also reveals a persistent pattern of intrusive surveillance, harassment, and intimidation, accompanied by racial discrimination and gender-based violence against the land defenders, the majority of whom are women. But our report goes beyond the pipeline. It’s about the ongoing colonial violence that Indigenous Peoples in Canada have endured for far too long. And it must end today. YES, I SUPPORT THE WET'SUWET'EN NATION! I ask you to join Amnesty International Canada in urging Canadian officials to: End the harassment, intimidation, surveillance and criminalization of Wet’suwet’en land defenders and their supporters. Drop the charges against Indigenous land defenders criminalized for opposing the Coastal GasLink pipeline. Stop the construction and use of the Coastal GasLink pipeline until the free, prior, and informed consent of the Hereditary Chiefs is obtained. Our collective voice is stronger than this injustice. Speak up with me, speak up with Amnesty International, and most importantly, speak up and show your solidarity with Indigenous land defenders. In hope and solidarity, Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General Amnesty International Canada P.S. If you want to learn more, watch our live press conference on our Facebook page at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST. On our interactive Digital Report page, you can explore firsthand accounts, compelling photos, and gripping videos. You also can read the full PDF Report by clicking here.

There Are Ghosts High Above Us, With Colors That Come From Space

Scientists captured new imagery of atmospheric phenomena that occur during some lightning storms, offering clues into how they form.

A jellyfish sprite, observed from a time-lapse video in 2019, about 50 miles above the Mediterranean Sea. Scientists disentangling the various wavelengths in the ghost above the jellyfish explained why some have a green hue (which are not visible to the naked eye)

.Credit...Oscar Van der Velde



By Robin George Andrews

NEW YORK TIMES
Dec. 12, 2023


In June 2019, scientists in Spain went searching for ghosts haunting the skies above the Mediterranean Sea. These green-hued wisps, dancing above pink-red, extremely high-altitude lightning during thunderstorms, had been discovered only in May that year. What were they? The only way to know was to capture one.

But that would prove to be a troublesome task. These ghosts are aptly named: they are difficult to see with the naked eye and appear for just a heartbeat dozens of miles above ground.

“Seeing a ghost is really difficult,” said María Passas-Varo, a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Spain.

But on Sept. 21, 2019, they finally caught one with a specialized camera: a green spirit flickering at the crown of a jellyfish-shaped maelstrom of fuchsia lightning 50 miles above the sea. And after painstakingly disentangling the various wavelengths of light emitted by the ghost, the scientists unveiled its elemental makeup.

In a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, Dr. Passas-Varo and her colleagues revealed that the ghost’s pale emerald complexion came, in part, from excited oxygen, similar to the green glow of auroras; nitrogen plays a role, too.

But the main contributor was another element: iron. That was a surprise because the metal was ultimately being delivered from space.

Better understanding ghosts and other ephemeral lightning like entities can help scientists interpret the difficult-to-parse chemistry and physics of Earth’s upper atmosphere.

“There are layers of metals that dance” in and above thunderstorms, Dr. Passas-Varo said.

Ghosts are a type of transient luminous event, or T.L.E., which were first described by scientists in 1989. T.L.E.s can include blue jets, which fire upward from thunderstorm clouds, as well as crimson-tinged upper atmospheric lightning that can come in many shapes, like carrots and jellyfish, and is known as a sprite.

T.L.E.’s “are like fireworks,” Dr. Passas-Varo said. And little is definitively known about them — especially ghosts, the first of which was observed atop a sprite storm over Oklahoma in May 2019.

To capture their own ghost, her team pointed a spectrographic camera — one that can use light to ascertain chemistry — at the upper atmosphere from an observation post in Castellgalí, Spain. All they could do was wait for sprite thunderstorms to appear, cross their fingers and hope that at least one sprite would be briefly decorated with a ghost, and that their camera was pointed at the right place.

Eventually, they found one flitting about on a jellyfish sprite.

“It was a matter of luck,” Dr. Passas-Varo said.

This one was largely powered by extraterrestrial iron, not atmospheric oxygen. The camera also revealed the presence of nickel, sodium and silicon. The complex chemical soup responsible for this ghost even added a yellow-orange tinge to its green glow.

All of those elements often come from micrometeoroids and deep-space dust particles that are nearly constantly plunging into the upper atmosphere. That means that ghosts could effectively be seen as interplanetary visitors.

Still, some researchers said not too many conclusions should be drawn from the new paper’s findings.

“The metallic traces are interesting, but I’ll caution that this was only a single event,” said Chris Vagasky, a lightning researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved in the new work. To see if all ghosts are iron-fueled spooks, he added, “it would be nice to see the results from multiple ghosts.”

He has no doubt that the search for ghosts, and other T.L.E.s, will continue — largely because these phantoms are inherently beguiling.

“It’s really incredible to think that there is so much more occurring during a thunderstorm than what you can see or hear,” Dr. Vagasky said.

"The Colour out of Space" by H. P. Lovecraft

The H.P. Lovecraft Archive

https://www.hplovecraft.com › writings › texts › fiction

Aug 20, 2009 — It was just a colour out of space—a frightful messenger from unformed realms of infinity beyond all Nature as we know it; from realms whose ...

RELIGIOUS FETISH

Thousands gather to honor Mexico’s Virgen of Guadalupe on anniversary of 1531 apparition

Pilgrims sleep outside the Basilica of Guadalupe on her feast day in Mexico City, early Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. Devotees of Our Lady of Guadalupe gather for one of the world’s largest religious pilgrimages on the anniversary of one of … more >

By Fernanda Pesce - Associated Press - Tuesday, December 12, 2023

MEXICO CITY — Thousands of people sang the traditional Mexican birthday song “Las mañanitas” at Mexico City‘s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe Tuesday to honor the virgin on the 492th anniversary of her apparition in 1531.

Authorities estimated that over five million faithful visited the Basilica during the days leading up to the annual celebration of the country’s patroness.

Many had walked from distant villages, others had ridden bicycles or buses to reach the Basilica’s enormous patio, where a sea of tents held pilgrims who had slept overnight to greet the virgin in the morning.

The journey was not without dangers and risks. Mexico City prosecutors said Tuesday that three pilgrims, who were among a group on motorcycles, had been run over and killed on a highway leading from Mexico City east toward the city of Puebla.

Ten others were injured when a pickup truck ran into the group late Monday. The driver was arrested at the scene. Such groups of pilgrims walking or riding to or from the Basilica are a common sight on highways in December, when they sometimes occupy a lane or two of roadways.

The cold temperature, long walks and the wait to see the virgin’s cloak inside the Basilica did not discourage the pilgrims, many of whom walked the last mile or so carrying flowers or large paintings of the virgin.

According to church tradition, in 1531 the dark-skinned virgin appeared to the Indigenous peasant Juan Diego and her image was imprinted on his cloak, which is on display inside the church. Juan Diego was made a saint in 2002 by Saint John Paul II.