(SEOUL, South Korea) — A train presumed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departed Pyongyang on Monday, beginning its journey to Russia for a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a South Korean official told ABC News.
The leader of the secretive country will pay an official state visit to Russia in the coming days, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Putin on Monday began a two-day trip to Vladivostok, a port city near eastern Russia’s border with North Korea, where he’ll attend an economic forum, Russia’s TASS news agency said.
Kim’s train also appeared to be “heading towards” Vladivostok, the South Korean official said.
Discussions “are actively advancing” between Kim and Putin over a possible plan for North Korea to supply weapons to Russia, a U.S. official told ABC News last week.
Such a deal would be “another indication of how desperate Mr. Putin is,” said John Kirby, spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council.
“But if they move ahead, then there will be additional repercussions for North Korea,” Kirby said. “The international community and the United States will look for ways to hold them accountable for that.”
Kim, who took power in 2011, attended a military parade on Sunday marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean state, the government-run Korean Central News Agency reported.
The leader had met on Friday with a delegation visiting North Korea from China, a sit-down with “an atmosphere of deep comradeship,” KCNA reported.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson, Shannon K. Crawford, Selina Wang and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this story.
(MARAKECH, Morocco) — A rare and powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night and killed at least 1,037 people in the country’s strongest quake in more than a century, according to Morocco’s Interior Ministry.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the quake had 6.8-magnitude when it hit at 11:11 p.m. locally, with shaking that lasted several seconds. Morocco’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network measured it at 7 on the Richter scale. The U.S. agency reported a 4.9-magnitude aftershock hit 19 minutes later.
Marrakech has a population of almost a million people, a popular tourist destination known for its historic palaces. Marrakech hosted the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
President Joe Biden on Sunday expressed his “sadness by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Morocco” and said the United States is committed to providing the country with all “necessary assistance.”
During remarks in Vietnam, Biden said the United States is working to make sure Americans in Morocco are safe.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Morocco and my friend King Mohammed VI,” Biden said. “We’re working expeditiously to ensure American citizens in Morocco are safe, standing ready to provide any necessary assistance to the Moroccan people as well. We made that offer. “
Sep 10, 1:07 PM EDT
Death toll rises to 2,122, thousands more injured
At least 2,122 people are dead following Friday’s massive earthquake, according to the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.
Al-Haouz province, where the epicenter was located, suffered the highest number of deaths, followed by the province of Taroudant.
In the village of Amizmiz, some areas have been entirely wiped out, local TV reported. The Red Cross warned that it could take years to repair the damage.
At least 2,421 are injured, officials said.
Sep 09, 5:46 PM EDT
Death toll surpasses 2,000
The death toll in the earthquake near Marrakech has surpassed 2,000, according to Morocco’s Interior Ministry.
At least 2,012 people were killed, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the epicenter, officials said. At least 2,059 people were injured — including 1,404 critically — officials said.
Sep 09, 11:11 AM EDT
Algeria offers to open its airspace to Morocco following deadly quake
Algeria has offered humanitarian aid and has offered to open its airspace to allow eventual humanitarian aid or medical evacuation flights in and out of neighboring Morocco as the death toll continues to rise.
The country, which is bordered by Morocco to the west, closed the airspace when its government severed diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021 over a series of issues. The countries have a decades-long dispute involving the territory of Western Sahara.
Algeria said it is ready to offer humanitarian aid “in solidarity with the brotherly Moroccan people, in case the authorities of the Moroccan kingdom express a wish for this,” Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s office said in a statement Saturday.
The statement also offered condolences for the dead and “deepest compassion” for the injured.
Sep 09, 6:32 AM EDT
President Biden issues written statement on Morocco earthquake
President Biden said in a written statement that he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Morocco.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted by this terrible hardship,” the president said. “My administration is in contact with Moroccan officials. We are working expeditiously to ensure American citizens in Morocco are safe, and stand ready to provide any necessary assistance for the Moroccan people. The United States stands by Morocco and my friend King Mohammed VI at this difficult moment.”
Sep 09, 6:29 AM EDT
Casualty numbers climb as search and rescue operations continue
The number of casualties in the Moroccan earthquake has risen as search and rescue operations to find survivors continued on Saturday afternoon.
The Moroccan Interior Ministry confirmed that at least 820 people have died and 672 people have been injured.
Sep 09, 4:17 AM EDT
At least 632 people dead, another 329 injured
At least 632 people are dead and another 329 people have been injured in the earthquake that hit Morocco late Friday night, according to Morocco’s Interior Ministry on Saturday morning. The casualties were mostly in Marrakech and the five provinces near the quake’s epicenter. Authorities expect these numbers to rise as the search continues and rescuers reach remote areas.
Sep 09, 1:44 AM EDT
UN says it is ‘ready to assist’ as US embassy issues safety alert
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, said he is “profoundly saddened” after learning of the earthquake that took place in Morocco late Friday night, according to a statement issued by the UN Saturday morning.
“The Secretary-General was profoundly saddened to learn of the earthquake that hit Morocco today which claimed many lives,” the statement read. “The Secretary-General expresses his solidarity with the government and people of Morocco in these difficult times. He addresses his most sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured. The United Nations is ready to assist the government of Morocco in its efforts to assist the impacted population.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Morocco urged Americans to “exercise caution for the next 24 hours in case of additional earthquakes or aftershocks” and to “adhere to police instructions regarding road closures or traffic disruptions.”
Sep 09, 1:35 AM EDT
Powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Morocco
At least 296 people were killed Friday night when a 6.8-magnitude struck Marrakech, Morocco, according to Morocco’s Interior Ministry.
The quake struck within the Moroccan High Atlas Mountain range, roughly 75 km (46 miles) southeast of Marrakech, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It was the strongest earthquake to hit that region in more than a century, according to the USGS.
Mustafa Unal Uysal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(ANAMUR, Turkey) — The evacuation of an experienced American caver and researcher who fell ill more than 3,000 feet below the entrance of a cave in Turkey has begun, according to the New Jersey Initial Response Team, the organization he works with.
Turkish officials announced Friday that Mark Dickey, 40, had recovered sufficiently enough to be extracted in an operation that could last three or four days.
Rescuers from across Europe have rushed to the cave for an operation to save Dickey, who became suddenly ill with stomach bleeding during an expedition with a handful of others in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains.
“The doctors we sent down were very successful in treating him,” Cenk Yildiz, a regional official from Turkey’s disaster relief agency, told the IHA news agency. “We are now in a position to evacuate him.”
“This is a difficult operation. It would take a (healthy) person 16 hours to come out. This operation will last at least three or four days,” Yildiz continued. “Our priority is health. Our aim is to conclude this operation without anyone coming under any danger.”
More than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics and experienced cavers, are involved in the rescue operation.
The European Cave Rescue Association said Saturday that Dickey’s medical status was stable. A blood analysis device has been delivered to him to enable blood testing.
“Preparations are being made on the stretcher evacuation route to a further bivouac prepared at -700 m,” the statement said.
The cave was being prepared for Dickey’s safe extraction, including passages being widened and the danger of falling rocks being addressed, according to the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service and other officials.
“Patient Mark Dickey is being moved towards the entrance. This is a very difficult, deep and muddy cave. Some of the vertical climbing gear used by rescue cavers is wearing out and needs to be replaced,” Carl Heitmeyer, public information officer for the New Jersey Initial Response Team, said Saturday.
Dickey fell ill on Aug. 31 while on an exploration of the Morca cave and has been unable to return to the surface, according to the New Jersey Initial Response Team. Dickey is the chief of the group, which specializes in cave and mine rescue, as well as an instructor for the National Cave Rescue Commission.
The expert caver was helping lead an international caving expedition when he started suffering intestinal problems “that rapidly progressed into life-threatening bleeding and vomiting,” the New Jersey Initial Response Team said in a statement.
(MARAKECH, Morocco) — A rare and powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night and killed at least 1,037 people in the country’s strongest quake in more than a century, according to Morocco’s Interior Ministry.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the quake had 6.8-magnitude when it hit at 11:11 p.m. locally, with shaking that lasted several seconds. Morocco’s National Seismic Monitoring and Alert Network measured it at 7 on the Richter scale. The U.S. agency reported a 4.9-magnitude aftershock hit 19 minutes later.
Marrakech has a population of almost a million people, a popular tourist destination known for its historic palaces. Marrakech hosted the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Sep 09, 11:11 AM EDT
Algeria offers to open its airspace to Morocco following deadly quake
Algeria has offered humanitarian aid and has offered to open its airspace to allow eventual humanitarian aid or medical evacuation flights in and out of neighboring Morocco as the death toll continues to rise.
The country, which is bordered by Morocco to the west, closed the airspace when its government severed diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021 over a series of issues. The countries have a decades-long dispute involving the territory of Western Sahara.
Algeria said it is ready to offer humanitarian aid “in solidarity with the brotherly Moroccan people, in case the authorities of the Moroccan kingdom express a wish for this,” Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s office said in a statement Saturday.
The statement also offered condolences for the dead and “deepest compassion” for the injured.
Sep 09, 6:32 AM EDT
President Biden issues written statement on Morocco earthquake
President Biden said in a written statement that he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Morocco.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted by this terrible hardship,” the president said. “My administration is in contact with Moroccan officials. We are working expeditiously to ensure American citizens in Morocco are safe, and stand ready to provide any necessary assistance for the Moroccan people. The United States stands by Morocco and my friend King Mohammed VI at this difficult moment.”
Sep 09, 6:29 AM EDT
Casualty numbers climb as search and rescue operations continue
The number of casualties in the Moroccan earthquake has risen as search and rescue operations to find survivors continued on Saturday afternoon.
The Moroccan Interior Ministry confirmed that at least 820 people have died and 672 people have been injured.
Sep 09, 4:17 AM EDT
At least 632 people dead, another 329 injured
At least 632 people are dead and another 329 people have been injured in the earthquake that hit Morocco late Friday night, according to Morocco’s Interior Ministry on Saturday morning. The casualties were mostly in Marrakech and the five provinces near the quake’s epicenter. Authorities expect these numbers to rise as the search continues and rescuers reach remote areas.
Sep 09, 1:44 AM EDT
UN says it is ‘ready to assist’ as US embassy issues safety alert
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, said he is “profoundly saddened” after learning of the earthquake that took place in Morocco late Friday night, according to a statement issued by the UN Saturday morning.
“The Secretary-General was profoundly saddened to learn of the earthquake that hit Morocco today which claimed many lives,” the statement read. “The Secretary-General expresses his solidarity with the government and people of Morocco in these difficult times. He addresses his most sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured. The United Nations is ready to assist the government of Morocco in its efforts to assist the impacted population.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy in Morocco urged Americans to “exercise caution for the next 24 hours in case of additional earthquakes or aftershocks” and to “adhere to police instructions regarding road closures or traffic disruptions.”
Sep 09, 1:35 AM EDT
Powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Morocco
At least 296 people were killed Friday night when a 6.8-magnitude struck Marrakech, Morocco, according to Morocco’s Interior Ministry.
The quake struck within the Moroccan High Atlas Mountain range, roughly 75 km (46 miles) southeast of Marrakech, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It was the strongest earthquake to hit that region in more than a century, according to the USGS.
(NEW YORK) — Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old experienced American caver and researcher who fell ill almost 1,000 meters (more than 3,000 feet) below the entrance of a cave in Turkey, has recovered sufficiently enough to be extracted in an operation that could last three or four days, Turkish officials confirmed on Friday.
Rescuers from across Europe have rushed to the cave for an operation to save Dickey who became suddenly ill with stomach bleeding during an expedition with a handful of others in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains.
“The doctors we sent down were very successful in treating him,” Cenk Yildiz, a regional official from Turkey’s disaster relief agency, told the IHA news agency. “We are now in a position to evacuate him.”
“This is a difficult operation. It would take a (healthy) person 16 hours to come out. This operation will last at least three or four days,” Yildiz continued. “Our priority is health. Our aim is to conclude this operation without anyone coming under any danger.”
Local officials confirmed to ABC News that a local rescue team was taking over the operation and would hold a press conference on Monday.
The New Jersey-based cave rescue group that Dickey is affiliated with said he had been bleeding and losing fluid from his stomach, but he has now stopped vomiting and has eaten for the first time in days. It was not clear what caused the medical issue.
Doctors were expected to decide whether he will need to leave the cave on a stretcher or if he can leave under his own power. The New Jersey Initial Response Team said the rescue will require many teams and constant medical care inside the cave, which is also quite cold.
The cave was being prepared for Dickey’s safe extraction, including passages being widened and the danger of falling rocks being addressed, according to the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service and other officials.
More than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics and experienced cavers, are involved in the rescue operation.
Mark Dickey, 40, fell ill on Aug. 31 while on an exploration of the Morca cave in the Taurus Mountains and has been unable to return to the surface since, according to the volunteer group New Jersey Initial Response Team. Dickey is the chief of the group, which specializes in cave and mine rescue, as well as an instructor for the National Cave Rescue Commission.
The expert caver was helping lead an international caving expedition when he started suffering intestinal problems “that rapidly progressed into life-threatening bleeding and vomiting,” the New Jersey Initial Response Team said in a statement.
Members of Italy’s Alpine rescue corps on Thursday joined the more than 150 rescuers who raced to reach an American man who fell ill and became trapped some 1,000 meters (3,280 ft) underground in a cave he was exploring in southern Turkey.
Video footage showed the first Italian squad of six members, including a doctor and a nurse, preparing to enter the cave where Dickey is trapped.
Several other international rescue teams, including Croatian, Italian, Polish, Slovenian and American cave rescuers, “are waiting for the official invitation from the authorities,” the European Speleological Federation said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Turkish military is also aiding in the remote rescue operation, according to the New Jersey Initial Response Team.
Dickey said caving shows how well the international community can work together.
“We take care of our own. And it’s really special to be taken care of,” he said.
In eerily prescient comments, Dickey talked about how challenging it is to rescue an injured caver in these types of remote, deep caves, in a recent unpublished documentary by Rob Spangler.
“The number of rescue disciplines that are involved in cave rescue is astounding, the amount of challenges that you have to overcome to get someone out of cave when they’re injured,” Dickey said in the footage, which was filmed in November 2022 at the Cueva Gavilan cave in Oaxaca, Mexico. “You don’t realize how difficult it is until you really get involved.”
Morca is one of the deepest caves in Turkey. Dickey is part of an expedition team hoping to collect samples from and map the cave beyond 3,400 feet, according to the team’s website.
In 2014, more than 700 specialists rescued German spelunker Johann Westhauser, who was trapped for 12 days in one of Europe’s deepest cave systems.
ABC News’ Helena Skinner and Kerem Inal contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Japan launched a rocket to the moon Wednesday in an attempt to become the fifth country to land on the lunar surface, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The H-IIA rocket lifted off at 7:42 p.m. ET from Tanegashma Space Center — located on one of Japan’s southern islands — after weather conditions led to the launch being postponed three times between Aug. 25 and Sept. 1.
Onboard the rocket were the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) — which is a lunar lander — and the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), both of which successfully separated after launch, according to the agency.
SLIM is attempting to land with pinpoint precision on the moon — within 100 meters (328 feet) from its target — rather than “somewhere on the moon,” according to JAXA.
The agency hopes that this demonstration will pave the way for a new type of landing in future moon missions and even on other planets.
“In anticipation of future solar system science exploration, we will realize weight reduction for landing on planets with severe resource constraints and mounting higher performance observation equipment,” JAXA said. “We humans will achieve a qualitative shift from the traditional landing, where it is easy to land, to landing where we want to land.”
Because of the fuel-efficient route it is taking, SLIM is not expected to land until early 2024.
If the mission is successful, Japan will become the fifth country to land on the moon after the United States, Russia, China and India
India took its place as the fourth country to reach the lunar surface when its spacecraft landed on the moon on Aug. 23, and the first to do so in the lunar south pole region, where it is scheduled to remain for two weeks, conducting experiments and gathering data.
Russia had attempted to perform a similar mission to India, but its Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the surface of the moon on Aug. 19 after Russia’s space agency lost contact. NASA later published images showing a 33-foot crater left by Luna 25.
Meanwhile, XRISM — complete with a telescope, an X-ray imager and a spectrometer, which detects electromagnetic radiation — is described by JAXA as a space observatory.
It plans to measure the elements contained in stars and galaxies as well as space plasma, which is ionized gasses and the fourth state of matter.
XRISM will also examine “the formation of large-scale structures formed by stars, galaxies, and groups of galaxies will be clarified in unprecedented detail,” the agency said.
This is not Japan’s first attempt at landing on the moon. The country launched the OMOTENASHI (Outstanding MOon exploration TEchnologies demonstrated by NAno Semi-Hard Impactor) alongside NASA’s Artemis I mission in November 2022.
Weighing just 30 pounds, it would have been the smallest lunar lander to ever reach the surface of the moon. However, within one day, JAXA lost communication and had to scrub recovery operations.
Additionally, in December 2022, a private lunar landing mission — Hakuto-R Mission 1 — was launched with an attempt to land in April 2023, but communication was lost, and it ended up crashing.
(LONDON) — Archaeologists have discovered a 1,000-year-old mummy — believed to be of an adult individual — in Peru’s capital, Lima.
The mummy, which was discovered at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site in the upscale Miraflores neighborhood, was found alongside two ceramic vessels and textiles.
The discovery becomes the latest in a string of ancient discoveries made in Peru this year.
“I find it quite interesting that right in the heart of Miraflores, in the middle of the city, surrounded by modern buildings and constructions, an important site is still preserved,” said lead archaeologist, Mirella Ganoza.
Ganoza noted that the mummy had long hair and was found seated with bent legs. The remains of the ancient figure were also found with its jaw and long hair still preserved.
The mummy is thought to date back to 1,000 A.D, belonging to the Yschsma culture, inhabitants of whom lived south of Peru’s capital Lima.
“This discovery helps to complement the information we know about the Ychsma culture so far,” said Ganoza.
The discovery is the latest in string of century-old discoveries of mummies and pre-Hispanic remains made in Lima, including the recent discovery in June on a hilltop of a mummy found surrounded by cocoa leaves.
In March, a Peruvian man was arrested and charged for illegal possession of historical patrimony after he was found in a possession of a mummy believed to be 600–800-year-old in his cooler delivery bag.
The Huaca Pucllana site is viewed as a Pandora’s Box and archaeologists anticipate that many more artifacts could be found.
Malkolm M./Afrikimages Agency/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Gabon’s ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba has been released from house arrest a week after a group of mutinous soldiers seized power.
The country’s new military leaders, who call themselves the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), announced on state television Wednesday evening that, “given his state of health,” Bongo “is free to move about” and “travel abroad for medical check-ups.”
Bongo’s condition was not immediately clear. Video shared on social media by local TV channel Gabon24 on Wednesday showed the 64-year-old deposed president limping as he met with Abdou Barry, head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa.
The military junta declared a coup d’état on Aug. 30, hours after Bongo won reelection for a third term in a vote that was criticized by international observers. The coup leaders described the election as fraudulent and said the results were “canceled,” all borders “closed until further notice” and state institutions “dissolved.” They also announced that the president was under house arrest in his residence in the Gabonese capital of Libreville.
Bongo, 64, became president of Gabon in 2009 following the death of his father, who had ruled the oil-rich Central African nation since 1967.
The junta has since appointed Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema as chairman of the CTRI and president of the transitional government. Nguema met with local and regional officials earlier this week, pledging to improve infrastructure and shepherd the country through a peaceful transition back to civilian rule.
Gabon’s coup marked the eighth to occur in West and Central Africa since 2020. It came about a month after a military junta in Niger ousted the West African nation’s democratically elected government.
Gabon, home to more than two million people, is located on the western coast of Central Africa, sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. The country is a member of OPEC, with a production of 181,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
(KYIV, Ukraine) — Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska is “afraid” the world’s attention is turning away from the war, more than 18 months since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of her country.
Speaking with ABC News in an interview in Kyiv, Zelenska said, “sometimes people become reluctant, people talk about Ukraine fatigue.”
“This is the topic of our existence. We can’t stop fighting for ourselves. So my message is, please don’t stop to help us fight,” Zelenska said.
Zelenska is hosting The Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen on Wednesday in Kyiv, an international association of spouses of the world’s top leaders. Founded by Zelenska in 2021, this year the attendees include former U.S. first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The summit places a strong emphasis on mental health.
Zelenska said, “It’s a pressing issue around the world, but obviously it becomes a burning issue in a country that’s at war, when every Ukrainian is dealing with the consequences of events that we’re all witnessing.”
When asked about the mental health of her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the first lady said it’s something she’d like to discuss with him more often.
“He belongs to the category of people who would try to deal with things on their own. Until the end. Actually he’s a very tough man with high resilience. But everyone needs a rest sometimes. He does a lot of sport when he gets the opportunity. It helps him a lot,” she said.
Since the beginning of the war, the first lady has spoken out about the psychological impacts of this war on children and helped implement programs to rehabilitate Ukraine’s most vulnerable.
“Extra hours are being added to the school curriculum to teach the kids about their mental health, and every teacher will have a special course on providing psychological help and support,” Zelenska said. “The aim is to wrap every child with an armour of mental resilience.”
Ukrainian children returned to school on Sept. 1 and Zelenska said her son sometimes has to learn from the school shelter, while her daughter is starting her second year of university.
“This year they’re trying to study completely offline. And for her it’s a novelty because for many years they were studying in a mixed format. She has never seen all her fellow pupils and friends together in person, so she’s very happy,” she said.
Only one third of primary children in second and third grade children will be learning in person, according to UNICEF. In the city of Kharkiv, subway stations have been turned into classrooms. In other cases, bunkers are refurbished so that lessons aren’t interrupted when the air raid sirens go off.
Damian Rance, chief of communications for UNICEF Ukraine based in Kyiv, said this is having “significant mental health effects for children because schools are not just about formal education, it’s about social and emotional development as well.”
“We’re going to see significant issues unless we collectively address education as one of the major priorities,” Rance said.
A study by UNESCO found that 75% of Ukrainian schoolchildren experienced some degree of stress, while around a third of Ukrainian teenagers have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Zelenska is also worried about children being indoctrinated by Russia.
The Ukrainian government now says Russians have deported or forcibly relocated more than 19,500 Ukrainian children since the war began. United Nations investigators say it amounts to a war crime.
Zelenska said she believes this is part of a long term strategy to brainwash children in the country.
“This is indeed a conscious policy,” she said. “Because all the children we’ve managed to return say that the first thing that was done with them was so-called ‘patriotic re-education.’ That is, they were taught that they are no longer Ukrainians, that they are Russians, which they’re told is the country they should love.”
The first lady also addressed questions about women who encourage their partners to avoid the military, saying it is not her position to decide for them when it comes to matters of life and the fear of death, but that they should work within the framework of the law.
“The only thing I can advise now,” she said, “Is how you will look into the eyes of the people who will live around you? What will you say to them? How will you make excuses?”
(LONDON) — The hottest three months on record have just been recorded on Earth, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
The European-Union funded agency said that “Global sea surface temperatures are at unprecedented highs for the third consecutive month and Antarctic sea ice extent remains at a record low for the time of year,” in a press release published on Wednesday.
“It was the hottest August on record – by a large margin – and the second hottest ever month after July 2023, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service ERA 5 dataset,” C3S said on Wednesday. “August as a whole is estimated to have been around 1.5°C warmer than the preindustrial average for 1850-1900, according to C3S.”
From January to August of 2023, the agency said it has been the second warmest year on record — only behind 2016 — when there was a powerful warming El Niño event, C3S said.
“August as a whole saw the highest global monthly average sea surface temperatures on record across all months, at 20.98°C. Temperatures exceeded the previous record (March 2016) every single day in August,” according to C3S.
Meanwhile, Antarctic sea ice extent remained at a record low level for the time of year, according to the agency, with a monthly value 12% below average, which is the “largest negative anomaly for August since satellite observations began in the late 1970s.”
“A report in May from WMO (World Meteorolgical Organization) and the UK’s Met Office predicted that there is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record and a 66% chance of temporarily exceeding 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average for at least one of the five years,” C3S continued. “This does not mean that we will permanently exceed the 1.5°C level specified in the Paris Agreement which refers to long-term warming over many years.”
“Our planet has just endured a season of simmering — the hottest summer on record. Climate breakdown has begun. Scientists have long warned what our fossil fuel addiction will unleash. Surging temperatures demand a surge in action. Leaders must turn up the heat now for climate solutions. We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos – and we don’t have a moment to lose,“ said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
C3S, implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the European Commission, routinely monitors climate and has also been closely following recent development of global air and sea surface temperatures.
“The northern hemisphere just had a summer of extremes – with repeated heatwaves fuelling devastating wildfires, harming health, disrupting daily lives and wreaking a lasting toll on the environment. In the southern hemisphere Antarctic sea ice extent was literally off the charts, and the global sea surface temperature was once again at a new record. It is worth noting that this is happening BEFORE we see the full warming impact of the El Niño event, which typically plays out in the second year after it develops,” said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.
Said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, ECMWF: “Eight months into 2023, so far we are experiencing the second warmest year to date, only fractionally cooler than 2016, and August was estimated to be around 1.5°C warmer than pre-industrial levels. What we are observing, not only new extremes but the persistence of these record-breaking conditions, and the impacts these have on both people and planet, are a clear consequence of the warming of the climate system.”
