Climate change could unearth, disturb Cold War-era nuclear waste buried by the US, officials say

Long-term environmental changes were not taken into account during disposal.

ByJulia Jacobo
February 29, 2024


Climate change could unearth nuclear waste buried by US, officials say
A report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found 

The rise in global temperatures that are causing Arctic ice to melt and sea levels to rise could disturb Cold War-era nuclear waste buried by the U.S. decades ago, according to a federal report.

Noxious waste buried beneath former nuclear weapons testing sites could be unearthed by 2100 should the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change continue at the current rate, a report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office last month found.

At multiple testing sites around the world, the U.S. military detonated atmospheric nuclear weapons -- or hydrogen bombs -- and later attempted to clean up the leftover radioactive waste by putting them in containers covered with a concrete cap, Robert Hayes, an associate professor of nuclear engineering at North Carolina State University, told ABC News.

MORE: Extreme wave in Marshall Islands highlights dangers of climate change, experts say

Rising temperatures could cause the spread of the radioactive contamination from these test sites in the coming decades, according to the Government Accountability Office report, which analyzes what is left of the nuclear debris in the Pacific Ocean, Greenland and Spain.

In Greenland, chemical pollutants and radioactive liquid left over from a nuclear power plant at Camp Century, a U.S. military research base, were frozen in ice sheets that could melt in the coming decades, according to the report. Denmark has instituted permanent ice sheet monitoring in the region.

A mushroom-shaped cloud and water column from the underwater Baker nuclear explosion
Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting faster than previously thought, according to a study published in May 2023. Ice loss in the Arctic is the largest contributor to global sea level rise, scientists say.

In the Marshall Islands, the Runit Dome in the Enewetak Atoll was used as a radioactive waste disposal site that could be disturbed should sea levels continue to rise.

MORE: Greenland Ice Sheet melting faster than previously thought, scientists say

The U.S. conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands between 1946 to 1958, according to the Department of Energy. Most of the testing was in preparation for World War III, William Roy, a professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told ABC News.

There are currently disagreements between Marshall Islands officials and the U.S. Department of Energy on the risk posed by the nuclear waste.

While the Department of Energy considers human health risks on the Marshall Islands to be low, Indigenous communities are concerned that climate change could mobilize radiological contamination, posing risks to fresh water and food sources, and local officials believe the U.S. government is downplaying the risks, according to the report.

The authors of the report have recommend that the U.S. Department of Energy come up with a plan to regain the trust of Indigenous communities in the Marshall Islands.

MORE: Chernobyl nuclear disaster altered the genetics of the dogs left behind, scientists say

The U.S. military believed the cleanup missions they carried out was sufficient at the time but did not account for long-term environmental changes in these regions, Hayes said.

"The military was in the rush of the Cold War," Hayes said. "In hindsight, they could have done a better job."

The burnt out wreckage of the B-52 bomber, Jan. 17, 1966, a US B-52 SAC long-range bomber and a tanker plane collided over the Spanish Mediterranean coast near Almeria during a refueling maneuver. The bomber, which was on a patrol flight, had four hydrogen bombs on board.
Picture Alliance via Getty Image

The site of the 1966 midair collision between two U.S. defense aircraft -- of once which was carrying a hydrogen bomb -- over the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain exceeded European Union standards for radioactive contamination, according to the report.

But the experts agree that the waste does not pose an immediate threat.

MORE: Radioactive capsule found in Australia could have been deadly with prolonged exposure, expert says

Should the nuclear waste leak out of the containers, it probably wouldn't cause much damage, as it would dilute drastically in ocean waters Hayes said.

In Greenland, the spent fuel -- the material containing the components with the longest half lives -- was removed when the reactor was decommissioned, Roy said. The Danish government has also reported that the short-lived radionuclides probably have long-since decayed, according to the report. The remaining nuclides trapped in the ice would probably be diluted by the massive of amount of water creative amid the melting, Roy said.

A Satellite image of Enewetak Atoll nuclear test craters, Marshall Islands, Dec. 6, 2020.
Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data/Getty Images

MORE: Concerns mount over conflict in Chernobyl exclusion zone

In the Marshall Islands, though a more complicated situation with the presence of Plutonium detected, there is likely a "tremendous amount of dilution" there as well, Roy added.

The mere mention of radioactive material tends to spark fear, according to the experts.

"There is generally a public fear that is much higher than the actual risk," Hayes said.

MORE: Current model for storing nuclear waste may not be sufficiently safe, study says


Climate change presents problems much more immediate and threatening than Cold War-era nuclear waste, Roy said.

"Probably going to have greater issues from climate change than the mobilization of radionuclides from the Cold War," he said.

BELLA CIAO

Young South Korean doctors resist back-to-work orders, risking prosecution

By —Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press

Feb 29, 2024 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As South Korea’s government made a last plea for junior doctors to end a walkout hours before a Thursday deadline, many were expected to defy orders to return to work, risking suspensions of medical licenses and prosecution.

Thousands of medical interns and residents have been on strike for about 10 days to protest the government’s push to boost medical school enrollments. Government officials have warned that strikers would face legal repercussions if they don’t return to their hospitals by Thursday.

As of Wednesday night, about 9,076 of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents were confirmed to have left their hospitals after submitting resignations, according to the Health Ministry. It said 294 strikers had returned to work.

There was no word on any others going back to their jobs as of 10 p.m. (1300 GMT) Thursday.

Observers say many strikers are likely to defy the deadline, continuing the work boycott for weeks or months. The government is expected to begin formal steps toward penalties on Monday, as Friday is a national holiday.

“We’ve said that we won’t hold them responsible for leaving their worksites if they return by today,” Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told a briefing. “Doctors are there to serve patients, and those patients are anxiously waiting for you. This isn’t the way to protest against the government.”

READ MORE: Thousands of junior doctors in Britain walk off the job, beginning a 6-day strike over pay

Later Thursday, Park met some striking doctors for more than three hours, but there were no reports of a breakthrough. Officials invited 94 representatives of the strikers to the meeting, but Park said less than 10 showed up and they were ordinary strikers, not leaders. Park said they asked him about the government’s recruitment plan and he called for them to end their walkouts.

Ryu Ok Hada, one of the striking doctors, told reporters that he wouldn’t attend the meeting. He accused the government of treating the striking junior doctors “like criminals and inflicting humiliation on them.”

Starting March 4, the government will notify doctors who miss the deadline that it plans to suspend their licenses and will give them opportunities to respond, senior Health Ministry official Kim Chung-hwan said.

Under South Korean law, the government can order doctors back to work if it sees grave risks to public health. Those who refuse to abide by such orders can have their medical licenses suspended for up to one year and also face up to three years in prison or a 30 million won (roughly $22,500) fine. Those who receive prison sentences would be stripped of their medical licenses.

Some observers say authorities will probably punish only leaders of the strike to avoid further straining hospital operations.

At the center of the dispute is a government plan to admit 2,000 more applicants to medical schools starting next year, a two-thirds increase from the current 3,058. The government says it aims to add up to 10,000 new doctors by 2035 to cope with the country’s fast-aging population. Officials say South Korea’s doctor-to-population ratio is one of the lowest among industrialized countries.

But many doctors reject the plan, arguing that universities aren’t ready to provide quality education to that many new students. They also say the government plan would also fail to address chronic shortage of doctors in essential but low-paying specialties like pediatrics and emergency departments.

WATCH: American doctor who worked in Gaza describes dire humanitarian crisis civilians there face

But their critics say the striking junior doctors simply worry about expected lower income because of the sharply increased number of fellow doctors. The government’s plan is broadly popular with the South Korean public, according to a poll.

“Doctors must cure sick people. If they all leave, who’s going to treat them? Everyone would die,” Kim Young Ja, an 89-year-old housewife, said near a Seoul hospital.

The country’s 13,000 trainee doctors represent a small fraction of South Korea’s 140,000 doctors, but they account for about 30 percent-40 percent of the total doctors at some major hospitals and perform many vital functions to support senior medical staff.

The doctors’ walkouts have caused the cancellation or delay of several hundred surgeries and other medical treatments at their hospitals, according to the Health Ministry. The ministry says the country’s handling of emergency and critical patients remains largely stable, as public medical institutions extended their working hours and military hospitals opened their emergency rooms to the public.

But experts say if senior doctors join the trainee doctors’ strikes, South Korea’s medical service would suffer serious damage. The Korea Medical Association, which represents the country’s 140,000 doctors, has said it supports the trainee doctors, but hasn’t yet decided whether to join the walkouts.

A 60-year-old patient who was diagnosed with breast cancer six weeks ago said she hopes for an early end to the walkouts so that her treatment would go ahead smoothly.

“For my cancer not to worsen, I need to receive treatments at the right time. So I hope the trainee doctors will return to work as soon as possible, normalizing hospital operations,” said the woman, who wished to be only identified by her surname, Yu, citing privacy concerns.

Associated Press journalists Ahn Young-joon, Yong Ho Kim and Yong Jun Chang contributed to this report.

Joe Biden's cannabis pardons do not apply to everyone, an update from the U.S. Army has said.

By Robyn White
Nature Reporter

The president issued a pardon for all U.S. citizens who had been convicted of simple possession or attempted simple possession, or use of cannabis, also known as marijuana on December 22.

However, a new update has clarified that this pardon does not apply to everyone in the U.S.

Those in the military are not pardoned for these same offenses, the update reported.

A stock photo shows a cannabis plant. Military ceremony. Pardons issued by Joe Biden for possession or use of the drug are not extended to the U.S. military.

MIMALEFI/ROIBU/GETTY IMAGES

"The proclamation does not cover military drug offenses under 10 U.S.C 112a and therefore does not result in a pardon for military personnel, nor does it apply to the civilian drug-testing program," the U.S. Army statement read.

Biden has been introducing a marijuana reform since October 2022, which involves a three-step approach to changing how marijuana use and possession is dealt with.

"The attorney general issues certificates of pardon to eligible individuals, and then Biden urges governors to grant pardons for state-level offenses," the U.S. Army said in the statement. "During the final step, the secretary of Health and Human Services and the attorney general review the Schedule I classification under the Controlled Substances Act, which labels marijuana as dangerous as heroin and LSD but with a lower potential for abuse than fentanyl and methamphetamine. However, Biden emphasizes that as marijuana regulations change, federal and state restrictions on trafficking, marketing and underage sales should stay in place."

The idea of the reform and the pardon is to help those who have been convicted for possession or use of the drug seek employment, housing and educational opportunities.

Although the pardon does not extend to the military, Biden has pointed to the reform as evidence that he is adhering to policies he promised while running for president.

The debate as to whether marijuana should be criminalized is a long-standing one, with many vocal on either side.

Around 22 states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized the drug, meaning that those in possession aren't prosecuted.

"As I often said during my campaign for President, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana," Biden said in his October 6 2022 statement on the marijuana reform. "Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities."

In the United States, cannabis or marijuana is the most commonly used federally illicit drug. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) around 18 percent of Americans used marijuana at least once in 2019. Recreational use of marijuana is currently legal in 24 states and in Washington, D.C.

TAYLOR SWIFT INC. TIME CORPORATION OF THE YEAR

Taylor Swift's Singapore show will be her only South-East Asia stop, revealing how super concerts can get political

By Indonesia correspondent Bill Birtles and Mitch Woolnough in Jakarta

Taylor Swift marked another milestone in recent weeks, performing in front of her largest crowd ever in Melbourne.(ABC News: Brendan Esposito)

Tens of thousands of Swifties are flying into Singapore over the next week because of a deal the city-state government struck to be the only South-East Asia country to host Taylor Swift.

Fresh off her record-breaking seven-night tour in Melbourne and Sydney, the pop queen is doing six sold-out shows at Singapore’s national stadium.

It will match the run that British rock group Coldplay did at the same venue in January.

But the singer-songwriter's appeal is so great that the taxpayers of Singapore are paying to ensure she only plays there, much to the chagrin of fans in neighbouring countries.

The slate of shows will bring a financial windfall for hotels, restaurants and airlines.

But it has meant fans from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines have had little choice but to fork out thousands of dollars in flights and accommodation to see their idol.


"I think I've spent 10 million rupiah [$1,000] so far," said Indonesian fan Ernas Tiara, who is going on her first overseas trip with friends for the concert.

To save money, they booked a package deal early and are taking a non-direct red-eye flight from Jakarta to Singapore

.
Ernas Tiara (left) is joining an army of Swifties who are flying into Singapore for Taylor Swift's shows.(ABC News: Mitch Woolnough)

Ms Tiara will also stay in the airport on the first of their two nights in the city-state, but she knows other expenses will be unavoidable, including Swift's concert merchandise.

"I'm not just spending money on accommodation and tickets, I'm also spending on the outfit, the make-up and friendship bracelets," she said.

Her friend Annisa Pratiwi said she missed out on seeing Swift during her only Indonesian concert in Jakarta 10 years ago.

So when the Asian leg of the Eras tour was announced, she set up multiple user accounts to secure tickets for Singapore when they first went on sale last year.

"I can't describe the feeling of seeing her in person. I just can't wait," she said.

Other fans weren't so lucky and had been counting on more countries in Asia being announced.

A concert by Coldplay last year in Jakarta and another by British pop singer Ed Sheeran this month stirred hopes among Swifties that their idol would return to Jakarta.

But like fans in the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia, they were disappointed to learn they would have to travel to a much more expensive city-state to see her.

Adding to their sorrow will be the news that it was engineered this way to deliver an economic boost to Singapore.
Singapore's exclusive deal is 'not what good neighbours do'

Earlier this month, the prime minister of Thailand, Sretta Thavisin, let slip at a business forum that Swift was avoiding other countries because Singapore had locked her in exclusively.

Taylor Swift is doing six sold-out shows at Singapore’s national stadium.

(ABC News: Brendan Esposito)

He said the promoter, AEG, had told him Singapore's government was offering between $US2 million and $US3 million a show for an exclusive agreement.

AEG has not publicly commented.

The revelation prompted Singapore's government to confirm it paid a grant to the singer to entice her to the city, although it didn't specify the amount or the terms of the deal.

"The Singaporean government is clever. They told [organisers] not to hold any other shows in [South-East] Asia," Mr Sretta reportedly said at the forum.

He wasn't the only one admiring Singapore's move.

Taylor Swift: The anti-hero of the US presidential race

Taylor Swift is at the centre of a far-right conspiracy theory that claims the singer is part of an elaborate plot to rig football games and deliver Joe Biden the presidency. Here's how it unfolded.

The Association of Music Promoters in Indonesia also hailed the economic boost that the deal would bring to Singapore's tourism sector.

"When will the Indonesian government support the promoter industry like in Singapore?" the organisation wrote in an Instagram post.

The contract also made waves in the Philippines, with politician Joey Salceda asking the country's Foreign Affairs department to diplomatically protest Singapore's deal with Swift.

While he expressed admiration for the move and stressed the need for the Philippines to "up its game" to reap the economic benefits of big concerts, he said it was "not what good neighbours do".

Mr Salceda also warned the deal denying Swifties in his country from seeing their idol in Manila "hurt" the friendship between the two countries.

An exclusivity deal didn't apply to Coldplay, which held concerts throughout South-East Asia as part of its Music of the Spheres tour, but the band cashed in when it did a brief stop in only one Australian city.

The band, which declared in 2019 that they were seeking to make touring more sustainable, claimed it chose Perth over Sydney due to its proximity to Jakarta.

But like Singapore, the Western Australia government also paid the band a fee to play in the city.

While the full amount wasn't publicly revealed, some media reports claimed the inducement stretched to eight figures.

Governments spending huge sums of money to secure big events is pretty common, according to Kirsten Holmes, a international events expert at Curtin University.

"Governments typically spend the money to support tourism businesses because it's generally a large, fragmented and diverse sector," Professor Holmes said.

"Spending money to bring key people in, whether they're influencers, celebrities, a TV show to be filmed or a band, it's all part of promoting the destination."
How super concerts can become political

Money alone isn't likely the only factor that may have swayed Swift to Singapore over neighbouring countries

.
An estimated 600,000 people saw Taylor Swift live in Australia during her Melbourne and Sydney shows.

(Reuters: Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports)

The Singapore Tourism Board listed its "strategic location, quality infrastructure, safety, efficiency and diverse cultural offerings" as some of the other reasons why it stands out as a major event location in the region.

Being able to move large amounts of people in an efficient way is a key focus for the Swift tour, given all the sold-out shows.

The ease for fans to get to and from Singapore's stadium complex contrasts with the traffic gridlock that greeted thousands of people trying to attend Coldplay concerts in Manila and Jakarta.

The Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr even took a helicopter to one of the Manila shows because the traffic was so bad.

Zachery Rajendran, an integrated events management specialist at Singaporean educational institute Republic Polytechnic, also says a "stable and safe environment" and "cosmopolitan atmosphere" helped put Singapore above neighbouring countries.

Fans have forked out thousands of dollars to attend Taylor Swift's concert in Singapore, including spending money on outfits.

(Reuters: Tomas Cuesta)

Last year a Malaysian music festival was cancelled after two members of British band, The 1975, kissed on stage to make a point about the country's laws criminalising homosexuality.

And in Jakarta, protesters cited Coldplay's support for LGBT rights to try to have their concert cancelled last year, though it went ahead anyway.

In 2012, religious protesters successfully forced Lady Gaga to cancel a planned Jakarta show due to safety concerns.

China is off limits to many artists

Approval to play in some Asian countries is also an ongoing issue.

Tailing Taylor Swift

For thousands of unlucky Swifties who couldn’t land tickets to the Eras tour, just being near their idol was — nearly — enough.

One of the region's biggest markets, China, remains off limits to many international acts.

Touring performers have to adhere to tight censorship rules to be granted entry but even bands with no political baggage struggle to get approval to play there.

"We just need permission," Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin quipped after telling fans at a show in Tokyo that it was the band's "dream" to one day play in China.

A new visa-free deal between China and Singapore has come into affect just ahead of Swift's concerts

.
Taylor Swift started the Asian leg of her tour in Tokyo before she headed to Australia.(ABC News: Danielle Bonica)

"Regardless of whether there are international acts performing in Singapore, we can expect an imminent boost in visitors from China," said Mr Rajendran.

But he says Swifties from South-East Asia remain the main market for the six shows.

"[Local media reports] say demand for flights and accommodation around the dates of Swift's concerts has increased up to 30 per cent," he said.

"This demand is mostly coming from fans within the region in south-east Asia."

Ms Tiara is happy to be part of the travelling army of Swfities descending on Singapore, but wishes one day she'll see the singer in her home city.

"If she ever comes to Jakarta, I will spend all my money again to see her," she said.

Ernas Tiara is trying to save money on her Singapore trip to see Taylor Swift

.(ABC News: Mitch Woolnough)

In life, Li Zehou's brain advanced Chinese philosophy, but now it's frozen in a vat in Arizona

AVOID POWER FAILURE

By Lachlan Bennett

In the field of cryogenics, freezing a body is easy, but thawing one back out remains a challenge.(Supplied: Alcor Life Extension Foundation)


In an unassuming facility in the desert city of Pheonix, Arizona, hundreds of frozen bodies are held in cryogenic chambers.

We don't know who exactly has entrusted their remains to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation.

But we do know the identity of at least one of the 227 'patients': Chinese philosopher Li Zehou.

So how did one of China's most revered intellectuals, a man dedicated to semantics — not science-fiction — get immersed in the high-tech world of cryonics?

For Li, it had everything to do with philosophy.

What's philosophy got to do with cryonics?

Li was a leading light of the Chinese aesthetics movement in the 1980s, whose ideas navigated the philosophies of Confucianism, Marxism, and the European Enlightenment

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Li Zehou left China for the US in the wake of the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations. (Supplied)

ANU Chinese history lecturer Matthew Galway said he appealed across intellectual circles "because of his ability to write in such a way that was provocative, yet fascinating and broadly accessible".

"As the great sinologist Yu Ying-shih once said, his ideas in his written works rescued a generation of intellectuals and independent minds from the tyranny of cultural revolutionary Mao," Dr Galway said.

Li left China for the US in the wake of the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations and, according to the South China Morning Post, he revealed plans to "freeze his brain" in 2010.

"Take it out after 300 or 500 years," he told the Southern People Weekly.


"I am trying to prove whether culture affects the brain, and whether it is possible to find remnants of Chinese culture in my brain after a few hundred years."

This is known as Li's ji dian theory.

When Li died in 2021, he wasn't the first big thinker to end up at Alcor.
How does it work?

Co-CEO James Arrowood said "some of the smartest" and "most prominent" people in the world had signed up to have their bodies or heads preserved after death.

But most names are kept secret.

Learning how to freeze a body has been one challenge, but scientists are still yet to figure out how to thaw bodies without damaging them.(Supplied: Alcor Life Extension Foundation)

At Alcor, the process begins with paperwork, which provides legal guarantees, and a payment to "crowd-fund" the science of cryonics.

"Most people use life insurance, and if you do it properly, it's about the cost of a funeral," Mr Arrowood said.

Cryonics facility opens in Australia

Philip Rhoades wants to be among the first frozen in NSW.

Then when a person dies or is about to die, a specialist team is dispatched to their location.

Once a patient is legally dead, their blood is drained and replaced with an organ preservation solution.

The body is then transported to Alcor's facilities and gradually cooled to minus 196 degrees Celsius over the course of a week.

It is then stored in a vacuum-sealed chamber cooled by liquid nitrogen.

The final step, revival, is still a work in progress.
Is it possible to find life after death?

Some animals have a freeze tolerance — the Rana Sylvatica frog, for example, freezes during winter and hops out in the spring.

But humans are incredibly complex and scientists are yet to figure out how to thaw bodies without damaging tissue and organs.

Rana Sylvatica, or wood frogs, are capable of freezing during the winter and thawing out in spring without any damage to their bodies. (Reuters: Nikola Solic)

Mr Arrowood is painfully aware his field is often plagued by evangelical commercial operators promising life after death but he said Alcor was a not-for-profit research organisation that did not promise "immortality".

"There is a small group of members that think that we will imminently be revived," he said.

"But Alcor is not a philosophical organisation. We're not a religion. We are a science lab."

Mr Arrowood said most members joined because they wanted be part of the "Apollo moon landing of biology".

"Even if it doesn't work for them, if they contribute it could work for their grandchildren or somebody in the future," he said.


"And if it never works at all for the brain, it very likely will work for the kidneys or other organs."

But RMIT Centre for Molecular and Nanoscale Physics director Gary Bryant was highly doubtful the technology would work.

"From a scientific viewpoint there is no chance that any bodies frozen using current technologies will be able to be brought back to life," he said.
Does culture leave a mark on the brain?

Li wanted to be studied, not revived, but even if his brain remained preserved for hundreds of years it may not be enough to prove his ji dian theory.

University of Melbourne associate professor of anatomy Jenny Gunnersen said certain experiences such as drinking alcohol do leave a mark on the brain but it's much harder to observe the impact of society.

Li Zehou wanted his brain frozen for a few hundred years, then studied.

(Submitted: Alcor Life Extension Foundation)

"Life and society influences our brain a lot through the environmental inputs that we have. But collectively, it would not be necessarily true to say that being in one particular country or city would be distinguishable when you look at an intact brain after someone's died," she said.

"And then to actually draw conclusions … to test a hypothesis, we need to have a large number of brains all treated the same way."

While there are many unanswered questions in the science of cryogenics and the philosophy of Li, Mr Arrowood said Alcor was "deeply honoured" to be the custodian of a man of his cultural and philosophical standing.

"His philosophy was that you could both be an individual and embrace individual rights, but at the same time, you ought to be contributing to the common good," he said.

"His donation of his mind is a fantastic donation because we have this incredible brain of a great thinker of our time that we get to preserve, and we get to study."
Posted 3h ago

 

China’s automakers explore Latin America market

FORDISM IS GLOBALIZATION

By

 Xinhua News Agency

At the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, a cargo vessel loaded with 214 pure electric buses travelled across the Pacific from China to arrive in Chile. These buses are set to begin providing transportation services to local residents at the end of February.

This is an order delivered by Chinese bus maker Yutong Bus to its Chilean customer. These buses are equipped to meet the transportation needs of commuters traveling between the main urban areas and surrounding towns of Santiago, the capital city.

Following booming overseas demand, China’s car exports have seen explosive growth in recent years thanks to the growing popularity of new energy vehicles (NEVs), with domestic traditional automakers and newcomers entering overseas markets.

It is widely believed that, Latin America, a blue ocean market where automakers have invested heavily, boasts great market potential despite its relatively late start. In the first five months of last year, China’s exports of NEVs to Latin America surged 26.5 percent year on year to reach 337,000. Chinese-brand automobiles have become a familiar presence on the roads in countries like Chile and Mexico.

This January, Chinese NEV manufacturer BYD rolled out its hybrid model Song PLUS in Mexico, China’s second largest auto export market, whose comprehensive driving range has reportedly exceeded 1,000 km.

Geely Auto Group, another Chinese automaker, established its first Latin American regional subsidiary in Mexico last November and plans to launch five new models within a year.

The landscape of China’s auto exports is evolving beyond mere sales and transitioning into manufacturing and services.

More and more Chinese automakers are investing in setting up plants in Latin America. Chery Automobile announced in February that it will pour 400 million U.S. dollars into the construction of a plant in Argentina, with plans to produce 100,000 vehicles annually. Other Chinese brands including Great Wall Motor are also set to break ground in factories in countries like Chile and Brazil.

Zhang Yongwei, vice president of electric vehicle industry think tank China EV100, said China’s NEV exports maintained growth momentum while accelerating their transition from trade to diversifying into technical cooperation and overseas investment in factories.

Chinese automakers are also prioritizing enhancements in charging services and financial offerings.

In early 2023, BYD’s branch company in Mexico partnered with the multinational banking group Santander to provide convenient auto financial services to local dealers and customers. Furthermore, BYD recently cooperated with Shell’s Brazilian energy company Raízen Power to establish charging centers in eight cities in Brazil over next three years.

With more and more new technologies, such as intelligent technology, digitalization and Internet of Things, being put into operation, China’s new energy vehicles are expected to be more competitive while having more development space in overseas markets, said Sun Chao, deputy dean of Shenzhen Automotive Research Institute with Beijing Institute of Technology. 

Biden orders US investigation of national security risks posed by Chinese-made 'smart cars'

THEY COULD OUT-SMART US 

A BIDEN AIDE SAID

AP |
Mar 01, 2024 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Citing potential national security risks, the Biden administration says it will investigate Chinese-made “smart cars” that can gather sensitive information about Americans driving them.T Imag

The probe could lead to new regulations aimed at preventing China from using sophisticated technology in electric vehicles and other so-called connected vehicles to track drivers and their personal information. Officials are concerned that features such as driver assistance technology could be used to effectively spy on Americans.
Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

While the action stops short of a ban on Chinese imports, President Joe Biden said he is taking unprecedented steps to safeguard Americans’ data.

“China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices,'' Biden said in a statement Thursday. “China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I’m not going to let that happen on my watch.''

The probe is the latest action by the Biden administration to guard against what officials see as the growing threat of Chinese cyberattacks. Biden signed an executive order this week aimed at better protecting Americans’ personal data such as health and finance records from foreign adversaries like China and Russia.

Biden and other officials noted that China has imposed wide-ranging restrictions on American autos and other foreign vehicles.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said connected cars “are like smartphones on wheels” and pose a serious national security risk.

“These vehicles are connected to the internet. They collect huge amounts of sensitive data on the drivers — personal information, biometric information, where the car goes,'' she told reporters late Wednesday. “So it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out how a foreign adversary like China, with access to this sort of information at scale, could pose a serious risk to our national security and the privacy of U.S. citizens.''

Data collection is not the only concern, she and other officials said. Connected vehicles could also be remotely enabled or manipulated by bad actors.


“Imagine if there were thousands or hundreds of thousands of Chinese-connected vehicles on American roads that could be immediately and simultaneously disabled by somebody in Beijing,'' Raimondo said. “So it’s scary to contemplate the cyber risks, espionage risks that these pose.''

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Biden's order limiting access to Americans' personal data “overstretches the concept of national security.” Biden's actions "are discriminatory practices clearly targeted at certain countries,'' spokesperson Mao Ning said.

Few Chinese cars are currently imported to the United States, in part because of steep tariffs the U.S. imposes on vehicles imported from China. Still, officials are concerned tariffs are not sufficient to address the problem. Some Chinese companies seek to avoid U.S. tariffs by setting up assembly plants in nearby countries such as Mexico.

Under a plan announced Thursday, the Commerce Department is issuing notice of a proposed rulemaking that will launch an investigation into national security risks posed by “connected vehicles” from China and other countries considered hostile to the United States.

Commerce will seek information from the auto industry and the public on the nature of the risks and potential steps to mitigate them, the White House said. Officials will then develop potential regulations to govern the use of technology in vehicles from China and other "countries of concern,'' including Russia and Iran.

“We’re doing it now, before Chinese manufactured vehicles become widespread in the United States and potentially threaten our privacy and our national security,'' Raimondo said.

The investigation is the first action taken by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security under executive orders Biden issued to protect domestic information and communications technology from national security threats.


Electric vehicles and other cars increasingly rely on advanced technologies to enable navigational tools, provide driver-assist features and reduce operating costs and carbon emissions through fast charging, the White House said. The cars are constantly connecting with personal devices, other cars, U.S. infrastructure and their original manufacturer, posing national security risks, the White House said.

New vulnerabilities and threats “could arise with connected autos if a foreign government gained access to these vehicles’ systems or data,'' the White House said.

High tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and continued by Biden have effectively deterred Chinese automakers from entering the U.S. market, but U.S. officials and industry leaders worry that Chinese companies might choose to absorb the additional costs as China leans more heavily on exports. Chinese car makers are looking to build more vehicles overseas, with EV giant BYD announcing plans last year for its first European plant.


Ford CEO Jim Farley has said his company and others will have trouble competing on EVs with Chinese automakers, who have gone from no EV market share in Europe two years ago to about 10% now.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents Ford, General Motors, Toyota and other major automakers, said it supports Biden's goal to protect the safety of the traveling public.

In a statement, the group urged Commerce to work closely with the auto industry to determine the scope of any action so it targets transactions that pose undue risk to U.S. economic and national security. At the same time, U.S. regulators must not impede “low-risk transactions” that advance “safety technologies essential to vehicles on the road today,” the group said, warning that such actions “could have unintended near-term impacts.''


The Alliance for American Manufacturing, another industry group, said it agreed that “data security of connected vehicles is an issue critical to national security, especially when manufactured by companies based in China.''

The group hopes the investigation “swiftly leads to decisive action,'' said Scott Paul, the group's president. “We also believe more will need to be done to stem the threat of Chinese autos to our national and economic security,'' including higher tariffs and limiting EV tax credits.

The European Union, concerned about rising imports from China, opened a trade investigation last year into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles. The investigation is ongoing.

___

Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this story.

HEY, ANYBODY REMEMBER THESE GUYS?!

WTO ministers struggle to forge fish, farm, digital deals

By

 AFP

World trade ministers were locked in disagreement on fisheries subsidies, agriculture and digital customs duties as a major WTO conference entered its last scheduled day on Thursday.

With no signs of a breakthrough at the World Trade Organization’s 13th ministerial conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, officials pushed back to midnight its formal closing session, initially scheduled for 8:00 pm (1600 GMT).

The meeting in the capital of the United Arab Emirates opened on Monday with disagreements between the body’s 164 member states on key issues that dominated the agenda of the talks.

They include fisheries subsidies, agriculture and a moratorium on customs duties for digital transactions.

“Everybody is working with a very positive outlook… to try to see what’s the maximum we can get done,” Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal told journalists.

“I am very confident… we will come out with significant outcomes, particularly when it refers to areas of very deep concern to large numbers” of developing countries, he added.

– Fisheries deal ‘difficult’ –

Delegates sought trade-offs as part of a potential package deal that could allow for greater agreement, as was the case during the 2022 ministerial meeting in Geneva.

A new deal on fisheries was initially viewed as the most likely outcome of the MC13 talks.

But Goyal on Thursday said: “It is very difficult to get a resolution.” 

After a 2022 deal which banned subsidies contributing to illegal, undeclared and unregulated fishing, the WTO hopes to conclude a second package focusing on subsidies which result in overcapacity and overfishing.

A draft text that was meant to be circulated on Wednesday is still facing delays, said a source close to the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The overall negotiations “are a bit like a rollercoaster,” the source said.

– E-commerce regulations –

Another sticking point is over the extension of an e-commerce moratorium, which EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday called “vital” to economic growth.

Since 1998, WTO members have agreed not to impose customs duties on electronic transactions.

The moratorium has been extended at most ministerial meetings since then, but objections by India and South Africa are now throwing it into jeopardy.

When asked if India would compromise on an extension, Goyal said: “Let’s see what the others are budging on.”

He warned, however, that an extension can’t be “taken for granted.”

On food security, Goyal said he was “confident” progress could be made on permanent rules governing public stockholding of food reserves — a key demand of India.

A “solution can be achieved,” Goyal said.

Big questions remain over how the outcome will address the issue of dispute settlement reform — a main point of contention between the United States and India.

Washington, under former President Donald Trump, brought the dispute settlement system to a grinding halt in 2019 by blocking the appointment of new judges to the WTO’s appeals court, its highest dispute settlement authority.

During the last WTO ministerial in 2022, member states reached a commitment to having a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system in place by 2024.

“What we’re going to see, I think, is a quite succinct (MC13) declaration which is… not going to sort out the substance,” said a Western diplomatic source who asked not to be named.

“It will recognize the progress we have made and that there is more work to be done, and that we have committed ourselves to get… the system up and running in the course of this year.”

 

Newest Russian drones feature knock-off versions of Canadian technology, Ukrainian officials say

CANADA'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE WAR

MARK MACKINNONSENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT

STEVEN CHASESENIOR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER

KYIV AND OTTAWA

PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO

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Lt. Ivan Posadskyi shows a Canadian-made antenna found in a destroyed Shahed drone, as well as a Russian copy of the same equipment (left is the Canadian one), on Feb. 25.OLGA IVASHCHENKO/THE GLOBE AND MAIL/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

After more than a year of seeing Canadian-made parts turn up inside explosive drones striking Ukrainian cities, military scientists in Kyiv say newer versions of the Iranian-designed Shaheds no longer use antenna equipment produced by Ottawa-based Tallysman Wireless.

But that’s not entirely good news. First Lieutenant Ivan Posadskyi said Russia – which started launching the drones at Ukrainian targets in the summer of 2022 – has developed a knock-off of Tallysman’s ceramic antenna that helps the kamikaze aircraft evade detection by Ukraine’s air defences. Russia is now producing its own versions of the Shahed-136 drones, and China appears to have played a helping hand in that effort, said Lt. Posadskyi, a member of Ukraine’s Central Scientific Research Institute of Armament and Military Equipment.

“We’re not seeing Tallysman equipment anymore. Those were the first versions. The Russians are now manufacturing the Shaheds in Russia. The same design, same approach, just the components are different. The Russian one is better, because they’ve upgraded it.”

Tallysman’s equipment, he said, “basically lit the idea for the Russians of making their own models with a similar pattern and design.”

Shahed drones haunt Ukraine’s cities on almost nightly basis – making a buzzing sound that has caused Ukrainians to bitterly nickname them “mopeds” – with Russia often using them to exhaust Ukraine’s air defences before launching salvos of cruise and ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian government said at the end of 2023 that 3,700 Shahed drones had been fired at the country in the 16 months since Russia began using them.

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Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, in Kyiv, on Feb. 25.OLGA IVASHCHENKO/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

In 2022, Tallysman president Gyles Panther said the company had “become painfully aware” of how its technology was being “misused” and was in no way complicit in how its antennas ended up in the hands of Iranian scientists. The same type of antenna components made by Tallysman, which has since been purchased by the Ottawa-based Calian Group, can be found in consumer satellite navigation devices.

Asked about this latest development, Calian Group attributed the lack of Talisman gear in newer Shahed drones to efforts designed to stop its components from being obtained by the Iranian manufacturers.

“We are encouraged that the measures we put in place are working and are pleased that our collective efforts have made a positive impact in ensuring that our products are exclusively sold to legitimate entities and not used for malevolent purposes,” Darrell Wellington, vice-president of Calian GNSS, a division of Calian Group, said in a statement.

Calian has been working with the Canadian government and distributors to prevent its components from being used in an unauthorized manner, ensuring products are “exclusively sold to legitimate entities” and illicit supply channels are shut down.

The story of how Tallysman equipment was used, and then copied, by the Russian military shows the need for Ukraine’s international allies to tighten restrictions on the export of dual-use technology, said Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.

A police officer inspects parts of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), what Ukrainian authorities consider to be an Iranian made suicide drone Shahed-136, at a site of a Russian strike on fuel storage facilities, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, on Oct. 6, 2022.STRINGER/REUTERS

“The Russians find where these components are and then they increase their imports of this equipment – not exported straight to Russia, but through third countries, mostly Central Asian countries,” he said. “We need to destroy the schemes that are being used by the Russians.”

Ending such exports, he added, is just as important as sending more air defence equipment to Ukraine since it would significantly decrease Russia’s ability to produce new munitions.

Ukraine’s military research unit believes the knock-off antennas used in the Russian-made Shaheds are manufactured in China. It says they have also been found in glide bombs – which can be dropped at a distance and then remotely directed toward their target – that Russia has been using to devastating affect along the front lines in the east and south of Ukraine. Military analysts say Russia’s intensive use of these bombs – reportedly hundreds in a single day – played a key role in forcing Ukrainian troops to abandon the shattered city of Avdiivka earlier this month after a 10-year battle.

The sophisticated Tallysman antennas and their knock-offs perform the same task: They enable an unmanned aerial vehicle to receive satellite navigation signals on several frequencies at once. That function, designed to help commercial UAVs navigate an urban terrain, makes it difficult for Ukraine’s air defence to jam the incoming Shaheds.

The best way to fight a Shahed is to shut it down before it reaches its destination, Lt. Posadskyi said. “Once it reaches a city, it’s a hell of a problem.”

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Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in an apartment building after Russian attack in Kyiv, on Feb. 7.EFREM LUKATSKY/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

But the Russian-produced Shaheds have an additional antenna – one that is very simple and easy to jam. When this happens, it alerts the drone operator that the craft has been discovered by Ukrainian radar. The drone’s central processing unit then switches to other frequencies – using the cloned Tallysman antenna – as it continues toward its target.

“It makes the Shahed almost foolproof to jamming,” Lt. Posadskyi said.

Mr. Wellington said the newly discovered gear was not copied from Calian technology. “It’s important to note that these highly sophisticated anti-jamming and null-steering systems have not originated or been duplicated from Tallysman’s antennas. Antennas play a passive role in the complex anti-jamming systems of a drone, alongside an array of electronic configurations, receivers and algorithms.”

His company is willing to lend its expertise on global navigation satellite systems to help Ukraine defeat the new technology, he added.

Another difference with the newer Shaheds is that they are made from carbon fibre, which is radar-absorbent. This makes the craft less visible on radar because it doesn’t bounce a ping back to air defence teams scanning the skies. The Russian-made UAVs are also painted black on the bottom to make it harder for spotlights to find them once they enter cities.

Lt. Posadskyi was speaking on Sunday on the sidelines of a forum in Kyiv, where the Central Scientific Research Institute of Armament and Military Equipment had set up a two-table display of Western-produced military parts it had found in destroyed Russian weaponry.

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The wreckage of a destroyed bridge leading to the village of Bohorodychne in eastern Ukraine on Feb. 29.DAVID GUTTENFELDER/THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

A database created by Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention lists Tallysman technology as having turned up in three different Iranian-designed drones used in the war: Shahed-136, Shahed-131 and Mojaher-6, as well as the Russian-made Orlan-10 UAV.

Cable equalizers produced by Gennum Corp., based in Burlington, Ont., have also been found inside the Mojaher-6, while converters and circuits manufactured by Montreal-based Aimtec were discovered in several pieces of Russian military hardware, including electronic warfare systems, armoured vehicles and self-propelled artillery.

Canada has strict sanctions on the export of military equipment to both Russia and Iran, but the commercial electronics parts produced by Tallysman, Gennum and Aimtec are not covered by the restrictions. Aimtec recently said its products are not meant for military purposes and that it asks distributors to respect U.S. and Canadian trade compliance regulations and requires consignees to whom the product is delivered to sign statements saying the items won’t be sold to military clients. It said it also conducts security checks regularly, consulting lists of entities under trade restrictions by the United States or Canada to ensure compliance.

Around 60 per cent of the gear on display at Lt. Posadskyi’s table was originally manufactured in the United States.

He said he had developed grudging respect for his adversaries in this war-within-a-war of military innovation and counter-innovation.

“I’m impressed with their creativity. It’s hard to say I’m impressed by their technology because Western samples of equipment and weapons are way more sophisticated and way more efficient and way more precise.”

Holding up one of the knock-off versions of the Tallysman antenna, Lt. Posadskyi said it was nonetheless “impressive how the Russians, given the resources that they have and despite all the limitations that have been imposed on them, are still managing to produce this.”