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Aramco's lithium job appealing however not yet industrial, minister says
Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco's project to extract lithium is appealing, however not yet commercially practical, the kingdom's mining minister told Reuters on Wednesday. Aramco has partnered with the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) for the pilot, Bandar Alkhorayef said. Lithium Infinity, also known as Lihytech, a start-up launched out of KAUST, is leading the extraction job with cooperation from Saudi mining business Ma'aden and Aramco. Lithium is an essential component in the batteries of electric cars, laptops, and mobile phones. Reuters previously reported that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' nationwide oil business prepared to draw out the mineral from oil overflows. Alkhorayef likewise confirmed that Saudi Arabian mining company Manara Minerals was taking a look at investing in Pakistan's Reko Diq mine, stating that the Saudi Advancement Fund could contribute over $100 million to Pakistan's mining infrastructure. Part of what we are looking at is how we can assist Pakistan also in some infrastructure, Alkhorayef stated in an interview on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Online Forum in Riyadh. Without that facilities the economics of the offer are not attractive, so through the Saudi Advancement Fund we are thinking about how we can finance it. Manara, a joint venture in between state-controlled miner Ma'aden and the $925 billion Public Investment Fund ( PIF), was established as part of the kingdom's efforts to diversify its economy far from oil, including by purchasing minority stakes in assets overseas. Executives from Manara went to Pakistan in May in 2015 for discuss buying a stake in the Reko Diq mine, considered one of the world's biggest underdeveloped copper-gold locations by worldwide mining company Barrick Gold, which owns the project jointly with Pakistan.
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Brazilian meatpacker JBS states net-zero emissions promise was 'never a guarantee'
The world's largest meatpacker, JBS, became in 2021 the very first of its peers to devote to cutting or balancing out all its emissions by 2040, and to ending prohibited deforestation throughout its long supply chain that starts in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. It used terms such as dedication and pledge, and a. slogan that anything less is not an alternative, to explain its. plan on calls with financiers about a sustainable bond issue and. in marketing materials, consisting of for its beef. Nearly four years later on, Jason Weller, worldwide chief. sustainability officer at the business in which the Batista. family is the biggest investor, informed Reuters in an unusual interview. that its emissions goal was simply an aspiration. It was never ever a promise that JBS was going to make this. occur, Weller said about the net-zero emissions pledge. He also stated JBS can not manage how farms. operate, although they are motivating voluntary change. The. business had pledged in 2021 to end unlawful Amazon logging. by its livestock suppliers by 2025. In a written statement to Reuters after the interview, JBS. said: Our climate aspirations have actually not altered. Any assertion. otherwise is completely false. Reuters found that investors have achieved little in holding. JBS to its promises in the last five years, with no investor. proposals being put forward about the environment, couple of ballot. versus the Batistas on any problem and barely any concerns about. sustainability on earnings calls. Earnings are skyrocketing on strong meat need, assisting drive JBS'. Sao Paulo-listed stock last month to a record high. Logging by livestock farmers is pushing the Amazon closer to. a tipping point at which the world's biggest rainforest will. gradually stop locking away climate-warming co2. Brazilian cattle ranchers are responsible for 80% of present. Amazon logging, according to scientists. The trouble of decreasing the ecological damage related. to JBS and other farming business could weaken President. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he prepares to host global climate. talks in November. Oil majors Shell and BP are also among international business to have. softened their environment promises. There are far too couple of investors utilizing their shareholder. impact to engage with this concern, stated Vemund Olsen, a. senior analyst for sustainable financial investments at Norway-based. Storebrand Possession Management, which sold its JBS stock in 2017. It's a problem to which the whole market needs to discover. typical solutions, and which also requires improved regulation. and enforcement of legislation in nations like Brazil.. In October, Brazil's environmental protection agency fined. cattle ranches and meatpackers, including JBS, for raising or purchasing. livestock on unlawfully deforested Amazon land. SUPPLY CHAIN DIFFICULTY Ecological activists have actually calculated that 97% of JBS'. emissions originate from greenhouse gases launched through. logging, biodiversity loss and pollution. In emissions accounting, these are called emissions from. modifications in land usage. JBS has actually called these computations flawed. While JBS reports indirect emissions throughout its supply. chain, it leaves out emissions connected to modifications in land usage. There is not an approved format today on how to determine. land-use-change emissions for which we have self-confidence, Weller. stated. JBS rather focuses on emissions from its own operations,. consisting of slaughterhouses. Other global business, including packaged food business Mars. and grain traders Archer Daniels Midland and Bunge, have actually started. divulging change-of-land-use emissions. We do not have the capability to mandate or require a modification on. farms, nor do we have the capability to mandate and alter how our. clients use our products, Weller said. Because of these limits, he said JBS had absolutely no operational,. contractual or legal control of its supply chain. The executive, however, added that regardless of not having any. mandate, we're acting upon our supply chain, investing, and. driving genuine modification. LITTLE PRESSURE Morningstar Sustainalytics, an independent sustainability. ratings firm, places JBS in the 95th percentile among the. companies it evaluates, with a severe-risk score connected to. its environmental efficiency. Reuters found in interviews with investors and reviews of. company filings that the fast-growing company faced little bit. pressure even as evidence installed that it was on track to miss. sustainability targets. The business's 20 biggest financiers decreased demands to discuss. the business even as demands from European companies to stop. logging mounted. Morningstar information revealed that 17 funds identified as. sustainable hold JBS stock. All decreased to discuss their. engagement with the company or their investment reasoning, or. did not react to requests for remark. Weller said JBS is committed to improving transparency and. engagement with investors on sustainability. The ability of personal financiers to affect the business is. already restricted as the Batistas hold practically half of the. company's stock. Another 21% is owned by Brazilian advancement. bank BNDES, which has sided with management in votes. Non-public advice to investors in 2015 from proxy consultant. Glass Lewis showed JBS scored low on climate threat mitigation and. board accountability, while proxy consultant ISS likewise raised. concerns over management and egregious governance practices in. the context of corruption.. During the broad anti-corruption investigation referred to as. Operation Automobile Wash, which began in 2014 and included companies. throughout Latin America, a court banned siblings Wesley and Joesley. Batista from holding management positions. It came after they confessed bribing approximately 2,000. Brazilian regulators, government authorities and politicians,. including a previous president, over a span of ten years. Last April, the Batista brothers rejoined JBS's board. following an investor vote.
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Congo jails 3 Chinese people in unlawful mining crackdown
A Congolese court has sentenced three Chinese residents to 7 years in jail after they were apprehended in possession of gold bars and $400,000 in money and condemned of illegal activities linked to the artisanal mining sector. The trio are the very first Chinese nationals to stand trial given that Democratic Republic of Congo launched its newest push to crack down on the unlicensed extraction of the numerous precious and strategic minerals buried in its conflict-torn east. This is an instructional trial that must typically work as a wake-up call to all Chinese nationals who think they can leave China, show up in Kitutu, Kibe, Lugushwa, Kamituga or Mwenga and behave as if they remained in their own room, without even paying the hotel costs, said Christian Wanduma, an attorney representing local neighborhoods in the trial. The judge in a court in Bukavu, the capital of eastern South Kivu province, found the accuseds guilty on Tuesday of money-laundering, prohibited purchase and ownership of mineral substances, and other charges. In addition to the jail sentence, the judge purchased them to pay a great equivalent to $600,000, and completely prohibited them from Congo once their sentences are served. He acquitted them of charges consisting of fraud and unlawful mineral extraction for absence of proof. The offenders had pleaded guilty to four of the 7 charges against them, but said throughout the trial that they had not understood they were breaking Congolese law before they were detained on Jan. 4. Their attorneys said they would appeal the ruling. Congo has struggled to stop unlicensed companies and regional armed groups exploiting its abundant reserves of cobalt, copper, gold and other minerals. Protesters required to the streets of Bukavu last week after Chinese men arrested on suspicion of illegal mining in a. different case were released. Our minerals are being plundered by companies that are. mainly Chinese-owned and our individuals remain in severe poverty,. the roads are really shabby, we have difficulty accessing. drinking water, health care, education, electricity,. work, civil society leader Nene Bintu stated at the. presentation. This situation has actually gone on for too long and need to end now. In 2021, the authorities prohibited six small Chinese-owned. mining business, who it accused of running illegally.
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Kashmir's saffron growers explore indoor farming as climate pressures install
Tucked in a valley below the snowcapped Himalayas of the Indian Kashmir area is the town of Pampore, famous for its farms that grow the world's most expensive spice the redhued saffron. This is where the majority of saffron is farmed in India, the world's second-largest producer behind Iran of the spice, which expenses up to 325,000 rupees ($ 3,800) a kg (2.2 pounds) since it is so labour-intensive to harvest. Come October, the crocus plants begin to bloom, covering the fields with intense purple flowers from which strands of fragrant red saffron are chosen by hand, to be utilized in foods such as paella, and in scents and fabric dyes. I am happy to cultivate this crop, stated Nisar Ahmad Malik, as he collected flowers from his ancestral field. However, while Malik has actually stuck to traditional farming, citing the rich colour, fragrance and scent of his produce through the years, some agrarian professionals have been experimenting with indoor cultivation of the crop as global warming fears increase. About 90% of India's saffron is produced in Kashmir, of which a bulk is grown in Pampore, however the town is under hazard of quick urbanisation, according to the Indian Council of Scientific & & Industrial Research (CSIR). Experts say rising temperature levels and erratic rainfall posture a. danger to saffron production, which has actually dropped from 8 metric lots. in the fiscal year 2010-11 to 2.6 metric lots in 2023-24, the. federal government informed parliament in February, including that. efforts were being made to enhance production. One such programme is a project to help grow the plant. indoors in a regulated environment in tubes consisting of wetness. and crucial nutrients, which Dr. Bashir Ilahi at state-run. Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences said has. revealed good outcomes. Growing saffron in a regulated environment shows. temperature resistance and significantly reduces the danger of. crop failure, stated Ilahi, standing in his laboratory in between. stacks of crates including tubes of the purple flower. Ilahi and other local experts have been helping farmers with. presentations on how to grow the crocus plant indoors. It is a fantastic development, stated Abdul Majeed, president. of Kashmir's Saffron Growers Association, some of whose members,. consisting of Majeed, have been cultivating the crop indoors for a. couple of years. Manzoor Ahmad Mir, a saffron grower, advised more state. support. The federal government should promote indoor saffron cultivation on. a much bigger scale as environment modification is impacting the whole. world, and Kashmir is no exception, Mir stated.
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Germany has enough gas for winter, storage operators say
Germany has adequate gas in storage to cover demand over the existing 2024/25 winter season season, in spite of the end of Russian gas exports to central Europe on Jan. 1, storage operators' group INES said on Thursday. Regardless of the complete loss of gas transportation through Ukraine, a gas scarcity is no longer expected, INES said in a statement. It added the target for storage caverns to be a minimum of 30%. complete by Feb. 1 will be fulfilled. Must medium-to-warm temperature levels continue until the end of. March, the filling levels, which are presently at 71%, would. sink to 48% of total capacity, INES stated. In the case of extremely winter in the coming months,. nevertheless, the stocks might strike 24% by the end of winter in. March, INES said. Boosting underground storage was among Germany's main. reactions to being primarily cut off from Russian pipeline gas. because the war in Ukraine started in 2022. Since the start of this year, practically all other European. Union countries have actually also stopped receiving Russian gas. Germany has likewise increased its purchases of seaborne,. melted gas (LNG), and cut intake. The nation's storage facilities can hold 23 billion cubic. metres, equivalent to over a quarter of yearly national. intake last year. Wanting to the warmer summertime, the German storage. centers might be totally refilled for the 2025/26 season under. any situation, INES said, although it said financial rewards. must be increased to motivate companies to book storage. The 16 members of the lobby consist of the Astora company. within the SEFE group, VNG Gasspeicher, Uniper, and. RWE, and together represent around 25% of European. Union gas caverns.
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German parties' energy policies in February national election
Citizens in Germany, Europe's most significant economy, go to the polls on Feb. 23 in what marks the very first elections because Berlin severed its ties with Russia, its decadeslong gas provider. Here is how significant celebrations outline their energy policies: CDU/CSU The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), who keep up Bavarian sibling party CSU in the election, assure to cut power rates by 5 euro cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) or more, equivalent to roughly 12% of 2024 costs. The party proposes to cut power grid charges that contribute to clients' expenses, partially by raising carbon emissions permit rates, while offering personal capital rewards to buy power grids. Both celebrations likewise want reevaluate nuclear energy, which was deserted in 2022, and may withdraw a restriction on fossil car fuels from 2035. CDU leader Friedrich Merz has stated a fast shift to hydrogen would not achieve success. AFD The reactionary Alternative for Germany (AfD) has stated gas, oil heater, and tough coal power stations should be kept running. It wishes to continue domestic brown coal mining and reverse the withdrawal from atomic energy. It states the present judgment coalition's ideological plans for a change towards renewable resource depend upon state hand-outs, and will result in poverty, de-industrialisation and deepen import dependence. AfD wants to leave the Paris climate contract, cut energy taxes, and reboot the Nord Stream gas import pipelines from Russia under the Baltic Sea. The celebration's chancellor candidate Alice Weidel has actually stated she would take apart wind turbines to save money on grid costs that show renewables growth. SPD The Social Democrats (SPD) say they would continue to subsidise renewable energy, with a transformation fund reimbursing customers a lot of the costs collected from them through taxes and levies. The party wishes to loosen constitutional limits on public financial obligation, so-called financial obligation brake, to raise more money for energy aids and stays committed to a green change. It wishes to motivate purchases of German-made electrical cars and trucks with a temporary tax reduction. GREENS The Greens celebration wants to continue promoting eco-friendly energy. It is advanced in its planning for a capacity market style to enhance planned gas-to-power plants that must act as a backup to offset unpredictable wind and solar electricity. The celebration wants to promote electrical automobiles, heatpump, energy sharing and effectiveness, as well as to continue support for low-income customers. It looks to money its green policies with more state loaning.
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Kenya turns to the UAE for railway funds after China cut financing
Kenya has actually begun conversations with the United Arab Emirates to secure funding to finish a regional railway, President William Ruto stated, after China cut facilities funding to the task. The railway connecting the Kenyan port of Mombasa with landlocked neighbours, as part of China's Belt and Road Effort, ended in the Rift Valley in 2019, 468 kilometres ( 290 miles) short of the border with Uganda, after Beijing withdrew support. We are checking out a partnership arrangement with the United Arab Emirates to extend the Requirement Gauge Railway to link Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan, Ruto stated on X late on Tuesday, after fulfilling UAE officials in Abu Dhabi. Both sides will perform a feasibility study on the extension of the train, he stated, due to its capability to foster regional integration and promote trade. Ruto's office did not respond to Reuters' request for more information. Ruto, who took over in September 2022, has actually pursued more detailed ties with the UAE, and Kenya is likewise finalising a $1.5 billion industrial loan from the UAE for budget plan support. The East African nation and the UAE signed a thorough financial partnership agreement on Tuesday, intending to boost trade volumes by eliminating barriers, streamlining custom-mades processes and promoting investments. Kenya is going to be an entrance for sure for East Africa, Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE's minister of trade, informed Reuters on Tuesday. Trade in between Kenya and the UAE has more than folded the last decade, Ruto's workplace stated. The UAE is the 6th greatest export market for Kenyan products, and its second most significant source of imports. The worth of the trade stood at 445 billion shillings ($ 3.44 billion) in 2023, with the UAE purchasing agricultural items, while Kenya gets petroleum items, equipment and chemicals. The UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Emirates National Oil Business were among three Gulf companies Ruto's. federal government selected in 2023 to supply Kenya with oil on longer. credit terms, in a shift from an open tender system.
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EUROPE GAS-Prices inch up on colder weather report
Dutch and British wholesale gas costs were somewhat higher on Wednesday morning on expectations of lower temperature levels and less wind output. The benchmark front-month agreement at the Dutch TTF center inched up by 0.28 euro to 47.58 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0923 GMT, according to LSEG data. The Dutch day-ahead agreement was 0.70 euro higher at 48.10 euros/MWh. In Britain, the day-ahead agreement was 0.95 cent greater at 121.25 cent per therm. European costs fell in the previous session in the middle of earnings taking and lower intake. Prices are a little bit greater as the weather condition is anticipated to turn (chillier), a gas trader said. Temperature level forecasts for north-west Europe are expected to peak today but then anticipated to be lower than previous forecasts at the weekend. Temperature levels are expected to fall back below typical levels from Jan 17-22, LSEG data showed. Wind generation also stays weak and is not anticipated to be back above typical levels until at least Jan. 24, said Wayne Bryan, head of European gas research at LSEG. On the supply side, melted gas (LNG) and Norwegian circulations are stable. Today, 10 European Union countries required the 27-nation bloc to ban imports of pipeline gas and LNG from Russia, a file seen showed, as Europe prepares its 16th plan of sanctions targeting Russia's economy. In the European carbon market, the standard contract was up 1.02 euro at 77.98 euros per metric heap.
Sticks, drones and AI - Ukraine war drives military development: Peter Apps
For an unique operation, it looked exceptionally limited-- rarely the progressing future of a brand-new face of warfare.
A brief video posted Wednesday on the Telegram social networks channel of Ukraine's Special Operations Headquarters revealed what seems a Russian Zala 41-16E unmanned aerial vehicle flying high above Ukraine's objected to Kherson region as a. smaller sized Ukrainian UAV repeatedly assaulted it with a connected. wooden stick.
What type of UAV the Ukrainians were utilizing remains. uncertain-- the video footage was recorded directly from a cam on the. drone, which was itself for that reason out of shot. All that was. straight noticeable was the forward-pointing wood pole which the. Ukrainian drone pilot attempted to ram through the Russian UAV. prop, eventually appearing to send both crashing to the. earth.
Against the colossal scale of the dispute in Ukraine,. particularly given that Vladimir Putin's 2022 full-scale intrusion,. that engagement by itself is not of any fantastic significance.
Tens if not numerous thousands of Ukrainian and Russian. drones have actually entered into battle because the war started, with ever more. every month-- a battle which seems as vital as any other. to the result of the war.
Much of the specific drones might look low-tech-- the. Russian Zala 41-16E is based upon a type initially displayed at a. Russian arms fair in 2012, and is reported to have actually gotten in. service three years later.
The larger fight around their use, however, has. become one of the most essential arenas of the Ukraine dispute. -- one in which a war-winning system one week can be rendered. promptly obsolete.
The scale of the modification this has actually dealt with Ukraine's. battlefield is hard to overemphasize.
While drones have been used throughout the war, the volume. and strength of their usage - and the tit-for-tat technological. race to keep them in the air and striking targets while. rendering the enemy drones unusable-- continues to speed up.
U.S. officials have publicly acknowledged holding back some. ultra-secret drones and associated technology from Ukraine to. prevent losing its secrets ahead of a prospective even bigger war--. such as one sparked by a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Increasingly, however, the large tempo of fighting within. Ukraine means technology being used there is establishing at a. speed far much faster than in other places on the planet.
Those who enjoyed the dispute say both sides are now taking. technologies from idea to battlefield often within weeks,. extremely various to traditional defense multi-year procurement. timelines.
While Ukrainian troops continue to be pushed back gradually by. numerically superior Russian forces on the ground, long-range. rockets supplied by the U.S., Britain and France continue to. reach deep into Russian territory, destroying much of the. Russian Black Sea fleet and forcing it out of Crimea.
Meanwhile, drones have made it practically impossible to eliminate. either side to amass significant forces for an offensive.
A lot of the drones themselves are developed by small or. medium-sized Ukrainian firms. As it has actually run short of both. soldiers and ammunition, and recognizing that the U.S. and its. European allies would fall well short of promises to offer more. than two million weapons shells by now, Ukraine has actually set itself. the target of making a million drones a year to fill the space.
The innovation behind them, however, is backed up by some. giant and growing tech firms that see the conflict as a testbed. for brand-new technology in general and expert system in. particular.
U.S. AI firm Palantir-- which likewise supplies the. Pentagon-- has actually been active in Ukraine because 2022, while German. counterpart Helsing signed a memorandum of comprehending with. the Kyiv federal government in February.
Another AI company on a promotion blitz this week is Anduril,. called for a sword in Lord of the Rings and established by U.S. tech. entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, 31, a billionaire from his twenties. after establishing the virtual reality headset company Oculus.
Luckey's firm states it has actually also been in Ukraine considering that the. very first period of the war, and is likewise refining AI drones and. submarines for the Pentagon.
CELLPHONE TOWER MICROPHONES DETECT DRONES
Ukraine continues to have a difficult time not just on the. ground-- Russian drones and missiles continue to pound Ukrainian. critical facilities, particularly its electricity grid.
Again, however, this has not avoided in some cases striking. innovation.
Over the previous week, U.S. Flying force General James Hecker, who. commands U.S. and NATO air forces in Europe and Africa, and. Lieutenant General Stephen Gainey, who leads U.S. Army air and. space operations, have both applauded a Ukrainian system that uses. microphones on cellphone towers to identify drones by their sound.
Based on far more primitive Allied systems throughout World War. Two, information from the direction-sensitive microphones can be utilized. to triangulate the place of Russian drones, enabling them to. be engaged by gunfire, jamming or, in theory at least, rammed by. another drone with a stick.
Hecker told an audience at the Royal International Air. Tattoo this week that the system had actually been developed and developed by. two Ukrainian engineers in their garage, and rolled out quickly. and cheaply.
The trick, authorities say, is getting other major Western. nations-- particularly the U.S.-- to establish new systems with the. exact same urgency and effectiveness, instead of taking years or. decades.
A report this week by the U.S. Defense Development Board-- an. main body staffed by ex-top officials - warns that the speed. of technological modification especially in unmanned lorries and. expert system dangers leaving behind the world's. pre-eminent superpower.
It explained the Pentagon procurement system as a plodding. leviathan with a systemic aversion to risk and a lack of urgency. that has led to a culture of sustaining the status quo ... Success in related development is neither determined nor granted,. and failures are always advised.
Some steps forward are bearing fruit-- however they often. include bypassing more sclerotic official systems rather than. reforming them. In 2015, the Pentagon revealed a job known. as Replicator designed to provide very large varieties of drones. rapidly for any future China war.
' HELLSCAPE', DRONE SHIELDS
Authorities state some of those drones - switchblade loitering. munitions - have already been delivered.
According to leaders at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command,. U.S. military leaders wish to use a huge selection of unmanned. weaponry to deny the Taiwan Strait to China in case Beijing. tries to attack Taiwan itself, a task known as HELLSCAPE.
Drones possibly operating autonomously and feeding back. sensing unit info into a large network are likewise at the heart of. emerging multi-million-dollar border security plans from. Poland, the Baltic and Nordic states.
These strategies are explained in some cases as a drone shield and. their intent is to field tens of countless unmanned cars. along the borders of exposed eastern European nations to. counter any Russian attack.
This week at the British army's annual conference in London,. Britain's new army chief General Sir Roland Walker put unmanned. systems at the heart of a reform bundle he stated would make his. force a minimum of twice as lethal by 2027 - the date by which U.S. authorities state China may be prepared to attack Taiwan.
Growing varieties of U.S. and European authorities fear any such. attack would be accompanied at the same time by a war in Europe,. overstretching the U.S. and its European allies.
The danger is now so close, Walker informed the conference, that. much of the military equipment Britain had actually purchased for the. coming years might not have gotten here by the time any conflict. appeared. That would deepen the need to invest quickly in drone. and expert system technology to be ready.
In both Europe and the Pacific, there are plainly hopes this. brand-new type of fighting may help defeat any Russian or Chinese. attack with fairly small numbers of friendly casualties.
The Ukrainian experience, nevertheless, has been anything however. bloodless. Countless videos reveal both Russian and Ukrainian. soldiers pursued in dugouts, structures or open ground by. first-person-view drones being piloted by other soldiers. in some cases just a few miles away.
Offering the drones more ability to pick their own targets--. essentially by doing the computing and target recognition. within the drone with or without instructions from a human operator. -- will not make that dispute any friendlier.
The lesson of Ukraine is that technology can develop at. fantastic speed, however the visceral nature of war stays as vicious. and undesirable as ever.
(source: Reuters)