Scientists have long viewed Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which harbors an ocean beneath its thick, icy shell, as one of the best places to search for life beyond Earth.

Now, a new analysis of data collected by NASA’s Cassini mission, which orbited Saturn and its moons between 2004 and 2017, has uncovered intriguing evidence that further supports the idea of Enceladus as a habitable ocean world.

Enceladus initially captured the attention of scientists in 2005 because plumes of ice grains and water vapor were observed rising through cracks in the moon’s ice shell and releasing into space. The spacecraft flew through the plumes and “sampled” them, with data suggesting the presence of organic compounds within the plumes, some of which are key for life.

The latest data analysis of Cassini’s flybys of Enceladus revealed the detection of a molecule called hydrogen cyanide that’s toxic to humans but crucial to processes driving the origin of life. What’s more, the team also found evidence to support that Enceladus’ ocean has organic compounds that provide a source of chemical energy that could potentially be used as powerful fuel for any form of life.

A study detailing the findings was published Thursday in the journal Nature Astronomy.

“Our work provides further evidence that Enceladus is host to some of the most important molecules for both creating the building blocks of life and for sustaining that life through metabolic reactions,” said lead study author Jonah Peter, a doctoral student of biophysics at Harvard University, in a statement.

“Not only does Enceladus seem to meet the basic requirements for habitability, we now have an idea about how complex biomolecules could form there, and what sort of chemical pathways might be involved.”

The ingredients necessary for life as we know it on Earth include water, energy and chemical elements. The new research provides scientists with chemical blueprints that can be tested in labs, Peter said.

Finding building blocks for life

Amino acids are some of the building blocks of life, and hydrogen cyanide is considered to be a versatile molecule that allows amino acids to form, according to the study authors.

“The discovery of hydrogen cyanide was particularly exciting, because it’s the starting point for most theories on the origin of life,” Peter said. “The more we tried to poke holes in our results by testing alternative models, the stronger the evidence became.
Eventually, it became clear that there is no way to match the plume composition without including hydrogen cyanide.”

Previously, molecules such as carbon dioxide, methane, molecular hydrogen, water and ammonia were detected in Enceladus’ plumes, which reflect the composition of the ocean beneath the ice shell that generates the plumes.

The combination of these elements together suggested a process called methanogenesis, or the metabolic creation of methane, may be at play on Enceladus. Scientists suspect methanogenesis may have also played out on early Earth, contributing to the origin of life.

But the new research indicates more varied and powerful chemical energy sources are occurring within Enceladus’ ocean. In addition to hydrogen cyanide, organic compounds detected in the analysis included acetylene, propylene and ethane along with traces of an alcohol like methanol and molecular oxygen, suggesting there’s more than one way to sustain life inside the ocean world.

“If methanogenesis is like a small watch battery, in terms of energy, then our results suggest the ocean of Enceladus might offer something more akin to a car battery, capable of providing a large amount of energy to any life that might be present,” said study coauthor Kevin Hand, deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, in a statement.

Now, the study authors want to investigate how diluted the organic compounds are within the subsurface ocean because the dilution of these compounds could determine whether Enceladus could support life.

In the future, astronomers hope to send a dedicated mission to investigate Enceladus, which could provide a definitive answer as to whether life exists in the ocean world.

While the Cassini mission ended six years ago, its data is still a treasure trove of new information.

“(The mission’s) observations continue to provide us with new insights about Saturn and its moons — including the enigmatic Enceladus,” said study coauthor Tom Nordheim, planetary scientist at JPL who worked on the Cassini mission, in a statement.

Israeli soldiers shot and killed three Israeli hostages in northern Gaza after misidentifying them as threats, the Israel Defense Forces said.

“During combat in Shejaiya, the IDF mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a news briefing on Friday.

“During searches and checks in the area in which the incident occurred, a suspicion arose over the identities of the deceased,” Hagari added. “Their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination, after which it was confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages.”

The hostages have been identified as Yotam Haim and Alon Shimriz, who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, and Samer Talalka, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Am on the same day.

The IDF began reviewing the incident immediately, Hagari said.

Hagari said the IDF believes the three men either escaped their captors or had been “left behind” because of the fighting in the area.

Asked whether the three men put their hands up or shouted in Hebrew, Hagari said the military is still “reviewing the details” and promised “full transparency about all the details of this incident.”

Hagari said the incident occurred “in an area where our troops have confronted many terrorists over the past few days, even today, and engaged in heavy fighting.” He said Israeli soldiers had recently faced attacks in which fighters “tried to mislead our forces and fire-trap them,” as well as “suicide terrorists” who did not carry weapons.

Israel is still gathering facts about the fatal shooting, Hagari said. “Lessons and relevant instructions concerning the identification of hostages in battle zones have been immediately communicated to all IDF forces across the whole Gaza Strip,” he said.

Before news of three hostages’ deaths was announced, Israel had said Friday that they believe 132 hostages remained in Gaza, of whom 112 were thought to still be alive.

More than 100 hostages were released by Hamas last month after a hard-fought truce that also saw the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. But as negotiations around the release of the hostages broke down – with each side blaming the other for the failure – fighting resumed in Gaza.

More dangerous, close-quarters operations are taking place throughout the battered enclave, including in Shejaiya and Jabalya in the north, and further south in Khan Younis.

Several dozen protestors briefly blocked a major thoroughfare outside of the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv Friday night in a demonstration called by families of hostages following the news of the shooting.

The protestors, shouting “everyone now,” said they were demanding immediate action to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

What we know about the hostages

Talalka, 25, was the eldest of 10 children, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. He lived in Hura and worked with his fathers and brothers at a chicken hatchery near Kibbutz Nir Am, the forum said.

“Samer was an avid motorcyclist who loved to ride around the countryside and spend time with friends,” the forum said.

He had been at the hatchery on October 7 with his father when the terror attack began, telling his sister in a phone call that he had been injured by gunfire, before the call disconnected, the group said.

Fellow captive Haim was 28, according to the same group. The forum said he was a gifted musician and drummer, and a devotee of metal music.

Haim was able to speak with his family and tell them that his house had burned down before he was kidnapped on October 7, the group said.

He leaves behind two parents, a brother, and a sister.

IDF to take ‘additional caution’

Israeli soldiers in Gaza are now being told to “exercise additional caution” when encountering people in civilian clothes following the hostages’ accidental killing, Jonathan Conricus, another IDF spokesman, said.

He added that many of the combatants attacking IDF forces in Gaza “have been dressed in civilian clothes.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday described the hostages’ deaths as an “unbearable tragedy” and said that Israel will “learn the lessons” of the accident.

“Along with all the people of Israel, I bow my head with deep sorrow and mourn the death of three of our dear sons who were kidnapped,” he said.

“The whole state of Israel is grieving this evening,” he continued. “My heart goes out to the families aching during their time of immense grief. I would like to send strength to our brave soldiers focusing on this sacred mission of returning our hostages, even with the price of sacrificing their own lives.”

Benny Gantz, a key member of Israel’s war cabinet, said his “heart is shattered” by news of the shooting in a statement on X.

“The pain accompanying the campaign is now even bigger due to this difficult incident,” he said.

This story has been updated with additional details and to reflect that the IDF has corrected the spelling of Alon Shimriz.

Hungary blocked a crucial European aid package for Ukraine, hours after EU leaders agreed to open membership talks with Kyiv.

“Summary of the nightshift: veto for the extra money to Ukraine,” Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted on X, formerly Twitter, after a late-night session of the EU Council in Brussels. “We will come back to the issue next year in the #EUCO after proper preparation.”

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Hungary was the only nation out of the 27 EU members to oppose the multi-billion dollar financial aid package for Ukraine. According to Reuters, the funding deal is worth 50 billion euros ($55 billion).

“This is a good outcome. We still have some time. Ukraine is not out of money in the next couple of weeks. So we have that time and I think we can get there,” Rutte added.

Rutte said it was agreed that funding talks would resume early in 2024, and that “given the state of play in the talks, I am fairly confident that we can get to a breakthrough early next year.” But he added that was “not a guarantee.”

Earlier at the EU Council, member states agreed to begin so-called accession talks with Ukraine, nearly two years after it was accepted as a candidate state. Ukraine has held ambitions to join the EU for more than a decade.

Orban – whose government has always been by far the closest ally of the Kremlin in the EU – said he had not participated in the discussions about accession talks in order for the other member states to make the decision.

Orban on Thursday called the announcement that Ukraine was beginning accession negotiations “a completely senseless, irrational and incorrect decision,” adding that his country “did not participate in the decision today.”

Earlier this week, Orban claimed that Ukraine still needed to meet three of the seven conditions necessary to greenlight accession talks and, therefore, said there was no current reason to negotiate EU membership for Ukraine.

“Hungary’s position is clear; Ukraine is not prepared to start negotiations on EU Membership,” Orban said in a post on X.

“On the other hand, 26 other countries insisted that decision be made,” he continued. “Therefore, Hungary decided that if the 26 decide to do so, they should go their own way. Hungary does not want to share in this bad decision.”

Charles Michel, President of the EU Council, said the move was “a clear signal of hope for their people and for our continent.” He also confirmed that accession negotiations would be opened with Moldova, and that the EU had granted candidate status to the former Soviet state of Georgia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the news. “This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens,” Zelensky posted on X following the announcement.

“History is made by those who don’t get tired of fighting for freedom,” Zelensky said.

The decision to open formal membership talks with Kyiv sends a strong message to Russian President Vladimir Putin following concerns that the West was wavering in its support for Kyiv in its fight against Moscow’s invading forces.

‘We have lived up to our promises’

While experts caution that some fundamental obstacles still stand in the way of Ukraine joining the bloc, Thursday’s decision was nonetheless hailed as a milestone by various European leaders.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, called the decision “strategic” and “a day that will remain engraved in the history” of the European Union.

“Proud that we have lived up to our promises and delighted for our partners,” she said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X that “it’s clear these countries belong to the European family.”

Despite the political significance of the move, Kyiv still faces a number of obstacles in its bid to join the EU.

Ukraine is not going to be allowed to bypass the process that all countries must go through before joining the EU and in all, it could still be a decade until Ukraine actually joins the EU and can enjoy the benefits of full membership.

Ukraine will likely still need to meet the conditions of the Copenhagen Criteria – an opaque trio of requirements that the EU must be satisfied are met – before moving to the next stage of negotiations.

The critera focus on whether or not a candidate country has a functioning free-market economy, if the country’s institutions are fit to uphold European values such as human rights and the EU’s interpretation of the rule of law, and whether the country has a functioning, inclusive democracy.

All of those things are hard to prove for any country let alone one currently under invasion and in a state of war.

If Ukraine can meet the Copenhagen Criteria, EU and Ukrainian officials can start negotiating under the 35 Chapters of the Acquis, which lay out the accession conditions.

All chapters of negotiations must be fully closed, signed off by every EU member state, then ratified by EU parliament.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

Osmic Menoe was a young kid in South Africa when he first fell in love with hip-hop culture during the late 1980s, at the height of the country’s anti-apartheid movement. But like so many, at first, he didn’t even realize what it was.

“I got into the culture visually … seeing murals seeing people spraying graffiti,” he explained. “I used to like making different sounds with my mouth. I didn’t know that’s called beatboxing.”

Menoe grew up to realize the elements of hip-hop that he loved went hand-in-hand with history and culture across the continent. “Africa is the beat, Africa is the soul,” he said.

Yet little had been documented about the origins of the genre there, or the people who took it to new heights.

“What’s going to happen when all these individuals pass away, and no one remembers the story?” Menoe said. It inspired him to start the South African Hip-Hop Museum in Johannesburg, and the Back to the City Festival.

“We can capture all these stories so that future generations can know what all these people were doing and be inspired,” he said. “The world has been operating on African [cultural] resources, not just on our minerals.”

2023 marks what’s considered by many to be the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, but the origination of the genre continues to be one of the most debated topics in all music. Although most enthusiasts agree the birthplace of hip-hop was in the New York City borough of the Bronx, many believe the artistic foundation of the genre can be traced back to Africa.

From Africa to the Bronx and back

It’s widely believed that 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx was the birthplace of the hip-hop genre, and it all began with DJ Kool Herc. On August 11, 1973, his sister Cindy Campbell requested he spin some records at her “Back-to-School” jam at the 1520 Community Center, he once told NPR in an interview. There, the Jamaican-born DJ first tried out his “Merry-Go-Round” deejaying style on the turntables, extending an instrumental break to let people dance (breakdancing) longer and began MC’ing (rapping) during the extended groove.

While this infamous party has its place in hip-hop history, the roots of rap extend back much further, spanning the Atlantic.

Dating back to the 13th century, storytellers called “griots” existed in West African kingdoms and empires. Historically, griots have been highly skilled orators, poets, musicians, praise singers, and satirists who traveled around reciting the history of the empire with rhythm and repetition. This widely recognized oral tradition, some argue, could be considered the earliest manifestation of rap, laying the groundwork for the development of hip-hop.

“Rap is fundamentally based on vocal styling, based on call-and-response, which is the foundation of all Black music,” said Obi Asika, a Nigerian entrepreneur and record executive who was instrumental in growing the country’s music industry.

Call-and-response, where one phrase answers another either vocally or instrumentally, was popularized through artists such as James Brown (himself inspired by gospel music). It was brought to the forefront of hip-hop in the history-making 1980 Kurtis Blow track, “The Breaks” – with a foundation that can be found throughout African history.

“Music is embedded in the form and function of African society from day one because it is also tied to the metronome of our hearts.”

Obi Asika

“Ogene music [from the Igbo people] is at least a thousand years old; it’s call-and-response. If you listen to the Orikis in Yoruba with a priest singing, it’s call-and-response. If you listen to the foundations of Fuji [from the Yoruba people], it’s hip-hop,” Asika reflected, citing various music styles of different Nigerian ethnic groups.

“Music is a ritual for us in Africa, it’s not just entertainment,” he added. “Music is embedded in the form and function of African society from day one because it is also tied to the metronome of our hearts.”

Tracing hip-hop’s steps back to Africa

Five years before the party on Sedgwick Avenue, a group called The Last Poets provided the first known of glimpse of Africa’s influence on Western hip-hop culture, during the American Civil Rights movement.

The group of activists, poets and musicians, often credited among hip-hop architects, gathered in what is now Harlem’s Mount Morris Park on May 19, 1968, what would have been the 43rd birthday of assassinated civil rights leader Malcolm X, and recited their first poems in public. By 1970, they released a self-titled album of recited poetry amplifying Black power to the beat of a conga drum.

The group’s vocal style also includes aspects of call-and-response and rhythmic chanting based in African culture.

Even the name, The Last Poets, was inspired by words from the continent, with a poem called “Towards a Walk in the Sun” by revolutionary South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile. In the poem, Kgositsile depicts a time when poetry would have to be set aside in the face of the revolution.

The group’s body of work has since been sampled or referenced by the likes of Common, Too Short, N.W.A, a Tribe Called Quest, and The Notorious B.I.G. (founding Last Poets member Abiodun Oyewole actually filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the artist’s estate, which was dismissed in 2018 and deemed fair use).

The spoken word element, dating back centuries to the griots, and then evolving to include musicians, poets and rappers, has played a crucial role in preserving oral history and cultural richness.

Asika agrees that without the African blueprint, aspects of rap in hip-hop culture would cease to exist. “The music that the Black Americans have generated is music coming from their original source as Africans, which they have now reinterpreted because of the environment they are in,” said Asika.

“All Black music, including hip-hop, comes from us.”

The song that sent hip-hop around the world

The global notoriety of hip-hop began with the Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979.

“Everybody heard that record,” recalled Asika.

At the time, rap was referred to as “electro-funk,” and “Rapper’s Delight” was the first to be played on the radio.

“We were really consumed by American hip-hop rap music,” said Ayo Animashaun, founder of Hip-Hop World Magazine and executive producer of The Headies awards, which celebrate Nigerian music.

“We lived the culture, not by location, (but) by association,” Animashaun added.

Asika agrees this sparked a cultural shift on the African continent, leading fans to embrace the five elements of hip hop: emceeing, deejaying, breaking, graffiti, and beatboxing.

“Those five things, that’s hip-hop. That’s how the culture came alive,” he said.

Pioneers of African hip-hop

Like in America, the DJ was the first to put rap on the map in Africa.

“Ron Ekundayo seems to have had the first record that was maybe recognized beyond Africa,” said Asika of the continent’s earliest hip-hop offerings.

Nigerian disc jockey Ron Ekundayo a.k.a DJ Ronnie, released “The Way I Feel” in 1981. Considered Nigeria’s first rap album, it pre-dates the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, when the genre really began to dominate mainstream music. DJ Ronnie’s pioneering album led the way for the powerhouse Nigerian duo Okechukwu Azike and Pretty Okafor, better known as “Junior and Pretty.”

“They were actually rapping, they were preaching, they were telling stories with their rap,” said Animashaun.

Junior and Pretty were among the first Nigerians to commercially release rap music.

“I believe they are the foundation of Nigerian hip-hop and the foundation of Afrobeats,” said Asika, who signed the duo in 1992 to Storm Records and released their first pidgin album.

At a time when most artists were copying American hip-hop culture, the duo stood out, bridging local dialects with English, which was considered unique at the time.

“Their music is the foundation of everything everybody has done since then,” Asika added.

“[Hip-hop] started to become dominant and take over, and then the transition is that when we fully domesticated hip-hop, it became Afrobeats.”

Meanwhile, the 1980s in South Africa brought Senyaka Kekana, known professionally as just Senyaka. The late rapper, who is recognized as one of the country’s earliest hip-hop acts, released his debut album called “Fuquza Dance” in 1987. With hit singles including “Go Away,” the rapper experimented with fusing music genres like house and pop music, splicing in his own humorous and sometimes controversial lyrics. Senyaka’s signature style also laid the foundation for the sub-genre of Kwaito, a house music variant featuring African sounds and samples.

The birth of a protest movement

Against the backdrop of Nigeria and South Africa’s hip-hop evolution, the Senegalese rap scene was bubbling up. By the late eighties, hip-hop influence reached the French-speaking country in West Africa.

“Senegal is a huge hip-hop hub,” said Leslie “Lee” Kasumba, an African music curator out of Uganda.

While Eric B. & Rakim were changing rap’s flow in America with their album “Paid in Full,” Senegal had a dynamic duo of their own developing with Positive Black Soul.

The Dakar-based duo featuring DJ Awadi and Doug E. Tee became the country’s first well-known hip-hop group. The group was founded in 1989 and flowed in English, French, and Wolof. Mirroring American artists like Public Enemy, the duo was pro-Black and their lyrics focused on African pride.

“Outside of being great rappers and everything, they were also involved in the community,” said Kasumba.

By the mid-1990s, conscious rap was seeing an uptick in popularity worldwide. Beyond the good times and party vibes were lyrics that raised awareness of community social turmoil.

In 1993, the Tanzanian group Kwanza Unit was another early adopter of the trend. Kwanza Unit was a hip-hop collective similar to Wu-Tang Clan, which formed in the US the year before. The group operated as a community bringing together artists and fans to establish their own culture and way of life. Like Public Enemy did for the US, the group’s lyrics addressed racism, classism, police brutality, and other social issues faced by the people in Tanzania, but the delivery was in Swahili.

And what Osmic Menoe remembered from his time as a young child in apartheid South Africa was emerging, particularly in Cape Town, with deep roots in hip-hop protest music.

The long-term inequities faced by many Black people there inspired artists to use music as a way of speaking out against hardships in South Africa.

Prophets of Da City was the first known hip-hop crew on the scene reflecting this approach.

“Groups like Prophets of Da City were super vocal about being community activists, and they were quite politically driven,” said Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s head of sub-Saharan Music, a group charged with elevating African acts.

Okumu, who worked as a journalist in South Africa during the early stages of hip-hop, cites Prophets of Da City as one of the most influential acts of its time.

“They reminded people of similar groups in the US like Public Enemy, groups like this who were very militant and quite concerned about the human condition,” said Okumu.

“They rapped often about what was happening in their immediate reality being from the Cape Flats,” she added, “and that was really what the start of grassroots hip-hop in Cape Town.”

Swagger like us

Born in England as Banatunde Olusegun Adewale, Mode 9 (or Modenine) is a DJ-turned-rap star who started out as a presenter for Rhythm 84.7 FM in Abuja, Nigeria. He made his musical debut in 2004 with his album “Malcolm IX.”

The nine-time Headies award winner, including seven for Lyricist on the Roll, is known for his wordplay. But even the trendsetter has US hip-hop influences of his own.

“It’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at – a hip-hop state of mind.”

Mode 9

“When I listened to [American rapper] Big Daddy Kane, everything changed,” Mode 9 said. “He inspired me to just be who I am, (to) not be afraid to add that to my hip-hop.”

For most aspiring African rappers in those earlier years, the key to success was mastering the art of American hip-hop swagger.

“It’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at – a hip-hop state of mind,” Mode 9 said. He recalls wearing head warmers, Champion hoodies, and Timberland boots to embody hip-hop swag, even though temperatures in Lagos didn’t usually cooperate.

“We didn’t give a damn whether it was hot or not; you would see us sweating, wearing our head warmers, trying to look hip-hop,” he said.

A lasting fashion movement came hand in hand with hip-hop’s mainstream popularity. Early on, American artists often rapped about clothing brands they wore. Graffiti artists went from tagging to airbrushing outfits, while break dancers were creating their own signature sense of styles.

“The dress code was straight out of a Source Magazine,” explained Mode 9, referencing the US-based publication, which is the world’s longest-running rap periodical.

“What was hot in America was definitely hot in Nigeria,” he added.

“I’m wearing Adidas – that’s purely because of hip hop,” agreed Menoe. “But subconsciously, the reason you chose to go buy that shoe is purely because there was a group called Run DMC that made it popular and that made it look cool.”

Rap’s roots grounded in Africa

While both Asika and Menoe agree rap music has undoubtedly influenced various global music scenes for the last half-century, including across Africa, its origins lie in African cultural expressions, reciprocating the influence.

“I don’t want it to look like Africans are trying to appropriate something that our cousins created,” said Asika. “I think in Africa, hip-hop is maybe a thousand years old. So, with us, music is deeper than just some ephemeral thing; it’s fundamental.”

With the skyrocketing global popularity of Afrobeats, African acts have recently been dominating the music landscape, but more needs to be done to document the history of hip-hop and its evolution on the continent. That’s why Menoe is so passionate about teaching and preserving Africa’s hip-hop history, and his driving purpose for establishing the museum in South Africa.

The museum enshrines artifacts and includes a wall of fame, which pays tribute to those who laid the foundation for today’s hip-hop.

“We want to show the world what Africa’s about,” said Menoe.

“This (hip-hop) is what we are about, and this is what we’ve been about.”

Conflict resolution is a skill sorely needed in the world right now. As president and CEO of global think-tank International Crisis Group (ICG), Comfort Ero has plenty of experience in the field.

Ero has spearheaded the conflict resolution non-profit since 2021, after stints working at the United Nations, and before that, at the ICG’s West Africa project. Born in England to Nigerian parents, she has lived and worked on the African continent, and been heavily involved in peacekeeping operations in Liberia.

One of the areas monitored by the ICG is the impact of the climate crisis as a destabilizing factor for Africa – especially for the Sahel region and the Horn of Africa – and the organization has pushed for leaders to consider mitigation strategies.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Ero: I wouldn’t say it’s an obstacle. It’s one of the key issues that we have to grapple with. Countries that are already affected by conflict and violence also have to deal with issues around drought and flooding. Whether it’s in the Horn of Africa writ large or the Sahel, one of the challenges that we face is how to manage competition over resourcing; how to deal with displacement caused by climatic shocks like drought and flood; and to deal with that in the context of violence and conflict and instability.

What should world leaders be doing more of in that case? 

We have to take (climate change) seriously. It is existential; it’s transnational. We’ve got to think not just about loss and damage, but we’ve got to think about how to support countries to deal with adaptation and resilience. Money is required not just to deal with loss and damage – and it’s great that that was put on the agenda – but we’ve got to think now about the capabilities and capacities for countries that are dealing with multiple challenges going forward.

What are you hoping to see as a result of this year’s Doha Forum?

To see more investment in diplomacy. To give diplomacy a chance rather than assuming that you can resolve a conflict through military confrontation. That there’s more listening, more understanding, and there’s more empathy on both sides in conflicts. As far as we can see at the International Crisis Group, the biggest challenge today is a crisis in peace-making – and right now I think we need to focus on giving peace a chance.

Money talks, but nature may have the last word if climate change continues to unfold at current rates.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently calculated that transitioning to a sustainable, carbon-neutral future would take $13.5 trillion in investment globally between now and 2050. It’s a monumental figure, yet if industries like production, energy and transport can’t be transformed, the true cost for humanity could be much higher.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Børge Brende: There is no doubt that the cost of inaction far exceeds the cost of action when it comes to climate change. So we do have to act, but there’s also a big energy transition taking place and there are several challenges at the same time.

There’s energy poverty – 800 million people don’t have access to electricity – there’s energy security, and then there’s a decoupling of growth in energy and CO2 emissions.

Is the Middle East headed in the right direction? What does this mean for the future? 

Decarbonization has started in the Middle East. Some of the biggest solar plants in the world are being installed and established here in the Middle East, and especially in the GCC countries (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait).

Renewables will play a very important role in the energy transition that we will hopefully see in the coming decade. Also the price of renewables is falling dramatically ­– solar power has fallen to one-tenth of the price in a decade, so that makes it also very competitive.

Should events like this be considered an opportunity for sustainable development and economic growth?

This event also focuses on the energy transition, and Qatar is a major exporter of liquid natural gas. We know that gas emits half (the carbon emissions) coal does. So in the energy transition, natural gas can also in many countries be a bridge between heavily emitting fossil fuels to a renewables-based society.

Four alleged Hamas members suspected of plotting terror attacks on European soil have been arrested by German and Dutch authorities, Germany’s federal prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday.

Three people were arrested in Germany and one in the Netherlands on suspicion of planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe, the prosecutor said.

Hamas is classified by the United States, the European Union and other nations as a terrorist organization.

Of the three arrested in Germany, two were Lebanese nationals and one was an Egyptian national, said the prosecutor. The person arrested in the Netherlands was described as a Dutch national.

Reacting to news of the arrests, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser thanked the German and Dutch police authorities, stating that it “shows that our security authorities are extremely vigilant and act consistently.”

“The protection of Jews is our top priority. We use all constitutional means against those who threaten the lives of Jews and the existence of the state of Israel,” Faeser said.

The German Justice Minister, Marco Buschmann, also thanked authorities for the “successful investigation,” which has “contributed to ensuring that Jews in Europe can continue to live in safety and peace.”

“Following the terrible attacks by Hamas on the Israeli population, attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions have also increased in our country in recent weeks. This is shameful and shocking. We must therefore do everything we can to ensure that Jews in our country do not have to fear for their safety again. And our security and law enforcement authorities are working flat out to achieve this,” Buschmann stated.

The incident comes after the European Commissioner for Home Affairs warned the war between Israel and Hamas has increased polarization within European society.

Ylva Johansson told journalists that the divide is creating a “huge risk” of terror attacks in the EU during this holiday season.

To combat the risk, Johansson announced she is allocating 32 million dollars to protect public spaces such as places of worship during the holiday season.

Denmark arrests

The news came as Denmark and the Netherlands arrested four other people suspected of terrorism offenses.

Speaking in Brussels to Danish broadcaster TV 2, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the incident as “about as serious as it can be.”

“There are people who live in Denmark who do not wish us well. Who are against Danish society and everything we believe in. Happiness. Democracy. Freedom. Equality,” she said.

This is a developing news story. More to come

Alex Batty has not been seen since he was 11 years old, after being taken on holiday in Spain in 2017 with his mother, “who did not have legal parental guardianship,” and his grandad, according to a police appeal released in February 2019.

Batty was found in Haute-Garonne, near the city of Toulouse, according to the spokesperson.

His grandmother, Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, told the UK’s The Sun newspaper that she had spoken to Alex.

“I am so happy. I have spoken to him and he is well,” Caruana said, adding: “He is currently with the authorities in France. It is such a shock.”

Greater Manchester Police in the United Kingdom said in a statement Thursday that they have been contacted regarding “a possible sighting in France of Alex Batty, who went missing in 2017.”

Officers in the English town of Oldham are in contact with French authorities to establish the “authenticity of the report,” the police added.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “This is a complex and long-running investigation, and we need to make further enquiries as well as putting appropriate safeguarding measures in place.”

Famously one of life’s only two certainties, “tax” has been chosen by the Japanese public as its word of the year, reflecting rising costs of living and much-discussed tax reforms in the world’s third-largest economy.

The kanji, or character, for tax topped an annual poll of more than 147,000 respondents by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, with the head priest of a Kyoto temple painting a giant calligraphy of the character at an unveiling ceremony on Tuesday.

The character was chosen because debates on tax hikes were held throughout the year, association officials said, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Much debate has taken place in the country on income tax cuts, a new invoice system and on tougher rules for a tax donation scheme, they added.

“Next year, there will also be whispers of a consumption tax hike, tobacco tax, corporate tax review and so on. There will be no shortage of topics related to taxation, so I picked this kanji,” said one survey respondent from Osaka.

It comes as inflation has reached as high as 4.3% in Japan over the past year, worsened by stagnant wages that have long plagued the East Asian nation. The inflation figures, which may appear modest to many countries, are seen as unusually high in Japan.

The Bank of Japan’s decision to keep interest rates low, which has driven the Japanese yen down, also caused costs of imports to surge, even though it was seen as an effective way to bring back tourists after the Covid pandemic.

“Prices are rising but wages are not keeping up,” said another survey respondent from Tokyo, explaining their pick.

Tax also topped the vote in 2014, when Japan raised consumption taxes.

This year, the runner-up was the kanji for “heat” – Japan was hit by a record heat wave this summer – while in third place was “war,” a perennial global headline maker.

Silently padding through the jungle, the tiger slinks between tree trunks and hanging vines, her stripes a seamless veil among the dappled shadows on the forest floor. Hard to spot for a human — harder still if you’re a deer — but not so difficult for artificial intelligence.

Developed by US-based NGO Resolve, TrailGuard AI is an innovative camera trap that is designed to detect specific species and transmit images of them instantly.

While the technology was originally developed to combat poaching — the camera’s first field-test was in a reserve in East Africa in 2018, where Resolve says it led to the arrest of 30 poachers — conservationists in India saw potential for its use in managing human-tiger conflict.

TrailGuard uses an advanced vision chip with embedded AI that can recognize up to 10 species — such as tigers, leopards, elephants and humans — and transmit the data in real-time to park rangers via cell phone signal or long-range radio. Because it only recognizes select species, it uses less energy than regular camera traps, so it can stay in the field for more than two years, rather than needing its battery changed every month.

AI of the tiger

Last year, TrailGuard AI deployed 12 cameras in a two-month trial in the Kanha–Pench corridor in Madhya Pradesh, known as India’s “tiger state.” The 3,150-square-kilometer (1,216-square-mile) landscape includes the Pench Tiger Reserve, the Kanha Tiger Reserve, and a forest corridor connecting the two, and is home to over 300 tigers, the largest population in central India. Tigers, which need extensive space to roam, can freely move between the two reserves, which helps the population flourish and aids genetic diversity.

But the tigers aren’t the only ones who live in the forest: it’s also home to around 600,000 people living in 715 villages scattered through the corridor, and there are 2.7 million people living within five-kilometers (3.1 miles) of the tiger conservation landscape – which can create conflict with the big cats.

One of the most common kinds of human-wildlife conflict is tigers killing livestock. For villagers, this can mean the loss of their livelihood, and can lead to “retaliation killings,” which can have a significant impact on the already endangered tiger population.

But TrailGuard AI’s instant transmission of information can protect these communities, says Piyush Yadav, a conservation technology fellow at Resolve. When the camera takes a photo of one of its target species, it sends the image — and information including the location, the time of detection, and the species detected — via email and instant messaging apps to forest rangers.

“We are able to create this early alert system with that real-time data, (so that) the villagers are aware that there is a tiger 300 meters away from their location,” says Yadav. “Based on that, they can react more effectively to this data.”

If a tiger is spotted near a village, forest rangers can then share this information with the community via Whatsapp or Telegram, giving people time to protect themselves and their livestock. In cases where an attack on livestock is unavoidable, the images are also evidence for villagers to claim compensation from the authorities, meaning payment can be processed faster.

This helps the community become more tolerant to living alongside an apex predator, says Himmat Singh Negi, the former director of Kanha Tiger Reserve.

“When we saw for the first time the kind of results, the output given by the technology, it was amazing,” says Negi. “Those who are directly working on the ground, they were really thrilled actually, and they could really save some of these situations where otherwise, something untoward might have taken place.”

There’s a growing need for technology that can ease human-wildlife conflict: globally, human populations around tiger conservation areas increased by 19.5 million people between 2000 and 2020, and in India, 35% of the tiger population lives permanently outside designated reserves.

“This is not only a camera, rather (it’s) a tool for management, because with the use of this technology you would be in a position to save the life of a human being and then the livestock thriving in those areas — and the tiger itself,” Negi adds.

Increasing accuracy

TrailGuard AI was tested in a second trial last year at a tiger reserve in Dudhwa, a 1,310-square-kilometer (560-square-mile) protected area with around 107 tigers roaming between three sanctuaries, where it led to the arrest of four poachers who entered the forest after dark, says Yadav.

The results of the trials at Kanha-Pench and Dudhwa, published in September in the peer-reviewed journal BioScience, found the cameras to have 98.8% accuracy, and marked the first time that an automatic, AI-enabled camera transmitted images of a wild tiger.

While trials have ended, forest staff continue to use the cameras and receive notifications daily.

In the past year, Resolve has upgraded the vision chip in the camera, which it says will increase the accuracy and run faster. The new cameras will be deployed in the Kanha-Pench and Dudhwa reserves in the next few months, as well as West Bengal state, where they will be used in a new trial to manage human-elephant conflict in the area.

The tech is being commercialized and scaled under a spinout company, Nightjar, which aims to produce its first run of 500 units by March 2024. According to Nightjar, it already has pre-orders from companies that manage wildlife habitats.

As apex predators, tigers are vital to maintaining the forest ecosystem, which in turn provides sustenance and livelihoods for hundreds of communities. Yadav hopes that TrailGuard will allow tigers and the local people to thrive in the area.

“The villagers are very well aware that tigers are essential for their own living, their own ecosystem, their children’s future,” says Yadav. “The whole point of the work we do is the coexistence factor — that both the species have to survive.”