Denmark's King Frederik to visit Greenland, daily Sermitsiaq reports
The visit to Greenland by Denmark's head of state comes as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks a takeover by the United States of the minerals-rich and strategically important island.
Denmark has rejected Trump's ambition and says only Greenlanders themselves can decide the territory's future.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens Frederik-Nielsen will travel to Denmark on April 26, where he will meet with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, according to Sermitsiaq.
The king will travel to Greenland together with Nielsen when the prime minister returns to the island, according to the report.
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BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
Should Europe wean itself off US tech?
Imagine if US President Donald Trump could flip a switch and turn off Europe's may sound far-fetched, crazy even. But it's a scenario that has been seriously discussed in tech industry and policy circles in recent months, as tensions with Washington have escalated, and concerns about the EU's reliance on American technology have come to the the root of these concerns is the fact just three US giants - Google, Microsoft and Amazon - provide 70% of Europe's cloud-computing infrastructure, the scaffolding on which many online services some question whether an unpredictable US leader would weaponize the situation if relations seriously deteriorated - for example, by ordering those companies to turn off their services in Europe."Critical data would become inaccessible, websites would go dark, and essential state services like hospital IT systems would be thrown into chaos," says Robin Berjon, a digital governance specialist who advises EU believes that concerns over a so called US "kill switch" should be taken seriously. "It's hard to say how much trouble we would be in." Microsoft, Google and Amazon all say they offer "sovereign" cloud computing solutions that safeguard EU clients' data, and would prevent such a scenario ever occurring. The BBC has contacted the US Treasury department for truth, there have always been concerns about the lack of "digital sovereignty" in Europe, where US firms not only dominate the cloud-computing market, but also hardware, satellite internet and now artificial the region's main mobile operating systems - Apple and Android - and payment networks - Mastercard and Visa - are fears became urgent in May when it emerged that Karim Khan, the top prosecutor at the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC), had lost access to his Microsoft Outlook email account after being sanctioned by the White ICC has issued arrest warrants for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their roles in the Israel-Gaza war - something Mr Trump called "illegitimate".Khan has since temporarily stepped aside until a sexual misconduct probe against him is says that "at no point" did it cease or suspend its services to the ICC, although it was in touch with the ICC "throughout the process that resulted in the disconnection". Since then digital sovereignty has shot up the agenda in Brussels, while some public bodies are already seeking alternatives to US is it realistic to think they could wean themselves off US technology?Digital sovereignty is loosely defined as the ability of a governing body to control the data and technology systems within its problem faced by those pursuing it is the lack of comparable does have its own providers, such as France's OVHCloud, or Germany's Germany's T-Systems or Delos, in cloud they account for a fraction of the market, and don't have the same scale or range of capabilities, says Dario Maisto, a senior analyst covering digital sovereignty at global business consultancy open-source alternatives are available for common software packages like Office and Windows, but while proponents say they are more transparent and accessible, none is as comprehensive or well known. But while moving to sovereign alternatives wouldn't "happen overnight", it's a "myth" to think it's not possible, says Mr notes that the German state of Schleswig-Holstein is currently in the process of phasing out Microsoft products like Office 365 and Windows in favour of open-source solutions such as LibreOffice and Linux. Denmark's Ministry for Digitalisation is piloting a similar scheme."We sometimes overvalue the role of proprietary software in our organisations," Mr Maisto says, pointing out that for key services like word processing and email, open-source solutions work just fine."The main reasons organisations don't use open source are a lack of awareness and misplaced fears about cyber security," he adds."Our prediction is in the next five to 10 years, there will be an accelerated shift [to these solutions] because of this wake-up call." Benjamin Revcolevschi, boss of OVHCloud, tells the BBC that firms like his are ready to answer the sovereignty needs of public and private organisations in Europe."Only European cloud providers, whose headquarters are in the EU and with European governance, are able to offer immunity to non-European laws, to protect sensitive and personal data," he Microsoft, Amazon and Google say they already offer solutions that address concerns about digital sovereignty, solutions which store data on severs in the clients' country or region, not in the tells the BBC that it also partners with trusted local EU suppliers like T-Systems, granting them control over the encryption of client data, and giving customers "a technical veto over their data". The German Army is one of its Microsoft president Brad Smith has promised the firm would take legal action in the "exceedingly unlikely" event the US government ordered it to suspend services, and that it would include a clause in European contracts to that effect."We will continue to look for new ways to ensure the European Commission and our European customers have the options and assurances they need to operate with confidence," a Microsoft spokesman told the BBC. Zach Meyers, from the Brussels-based Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE) think tank, says it might make sense for Europe to develop its own limited sovereign cloud to protect critical government he adds that it's unrealistic to try to "get Americans out of the supply chain, or to ensure that there's Europeans in the supply chain at each point".He points to Gaia X - a scheme launched in 2020 to create a European-based alternative to large, centralised cloud platforms, which has faced significant criticism and delays."A lot of these [tech] markets are winner takes all, so once you're the first mover it's really hard for anyone else to catch up."Instead, Mr Meyers thinks Europe should focus on areas of technology where it might gain an edge."It could be the industrial use of AI, because Europe already has a much bigger, stronger industrial base than the US has," he says. "Or the next generation of chipmaking equipment, because one of the few areas where Europe has foothold is in photolithography - the machines that make the really top-end chips." So where does the digital sovereignty agenda go from here?Some believe nothing will change unless Europe brings in new regulations that force regional organisations and governments to buy local technology. But according to Mr Berjon, the EU has been dragging its feet."There is definitely political interest, but it's a question of turning it into a shared strategy."Matthias Bauer, director at the European Centre for International Political Economy, thinks the goal should be building up Europe's technology sector so it can compete with the US and a report on EU competitiveness in 2024, Mario Draghi, former head of the European Central Bank, noted Europe is "severely lagging behind" in new technologies, and that "only four of the world's top 50 tech companies are European"."It's currently much harder for a tech company based in the EU to scale across the bloc than it would be for the same company in the US," Mr Bauer says."You not only face different languages, but different contract law, labour market laws, tax laws, and also different sector-specific regulation."As for the theory that President Trump might flip a "kill switch" and turn off Europe's internet, he's highly sceptical."It would be a realistic scenario if we were close to a war, but I don't see that on the horizon."Yet Mr Maisto says organisations must take the risk seriously, however remote."Two years ago, we didn't think we would be talking about these topics in these terms in 2025. Now organisations want to get ready for what might happen."
Reuters
15 minutes ago
- Reuters
South Korea's nuclear power output surges as coal use plunges
SINGAPORE/SEOUL, August 18 (Reuters) - South Korea's nuclear power output is racing ahead of official targets due to fewer maintenance outages, a new plant coming online and reactors running at full tilt, helping to rein in generation costs and pushing down coal usage. Generation from nuclear plants grew 8.7% year-over-year in the six months through June - three times official plans for 2.9% annual growth - while coal-fired output plunged 16%, data from state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) showed. "The basic principle of generator operation in the power market is minimization of generation costs. Nuclear power generally has lower fuel costs than other generation sources such as coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG)," a Korea Power Exchange (KPX) spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters. "If nuclear and renewable facilities continue to be additionally expanded in the future, generation from gas and coal is likely to continue to decrease," the spokesperson said. A 29% annual decline in maintenance outage times and a 6% increase in installed nuclear capacity in the first half of 2025 also boosted output, KPX said. The 1.4 GW Shin Hanul #2 plant southeast of Seoul came online in April 2024. South Korea is Asia's No.2 nuclear power generator after China. It is ramping up nuclear generation as policy resistance to the technology is waning, with Japan restarting idled plants and new reactors beginning commercial operations in India. The country of 51 million people operates 26 nuclear reactors with 26.05 GW of capacity and is building four more, including two units totalling 2.8 GW expected online in 2026. Tighter safety checks and maintenance shutdowns after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan curbed nuclear output in South Korea last decade, lifting coal and LNG use. However, nuclear output has risen 6.1% annually since power consumption stabilised in 2022, and President Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June, has pledged continued support. Nuclear's share of power generation rose to 31.7% in 2024 from 25.9% in 2019, KEPCO data showed, offsetting most of coal's decline to 28.1% from 40.4% across the same years. That helped South Korea cut its energy import costs, with overseas coal volumes falling 8% annually on average from 2022 levels, according to customs data, and the coal import bill falling 23% over that period to $15.4 billion last year. The growth in nuclear power is crowding out coal-fired power on transmission lines in South Korea. "Plenty of coal plants are sitting idle not by choice, but because there's no spare capacity on the transmission lines to carry more power," said Seunghoon Yoo, professor in the energy department in the Seoul National University of Science and Technology. Transmission constraints have also capped renewables, which along with hydropower provide just over a tenth of annual power generation, compared with a global average of 30%, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA, opens new tab). Power demand has mainly been driven by higher cooling requirements since 2022, KEPCO data showed, as industrial demand declines. Slow power demand growth has also discouraged operation of expensive gas-fired plants through the day despite the proximity of most of those facilities to Seoul. Gas is increasingly used to manage volatility, KPX said. "There has been an increasing pattern of gas plants operating during the morning peak hours, stopping around midday when demand is at its minimum, and restarting for the evening peak," the power exchange said. Electricity use by semiconductor manufacturers and data centres is rising but has not impacted fuel procurement, South Korea's energy ministry said.
Telegraph
15 minutes ago
- Telegraph
A Ukraine deal that rewards Putin will only invite future aggression
SIR – Donald Trump is inclined to support Vladimir Putin's demand for complete control of Ukraine's mineral-rich Donetsk region in exchange for ending the war ( August 16). Putin has said he would not seek to take any more territory. Could anyone be so gullible as to believe this, given Putin's previous form? Chris Learmont-Hughes Caldy, Wirral SIR – It is an outrage that Vladimir Putin should be laying down conditions for the ending of a completely unjust war that he started. Is there no one with the gumption to state that he is a war criminal, and has no right whatsoever to either seize another country's sovereign territory or be granted tranches of it? Chris Pond East Grinstead, West Sussex SIR – Donald Trump will now be remembered as the Neville Chamberlain of our times. For all his strong words, when face-to-face with a murderous dictator he gave in and stabbed Ukraine in the back. I don't think that 'coward' is too strong a word to describe him. The Nobel Committee should make clear that giving in to aggressors and bullying democratic countries does not count as peacemaking. Phil Coutie Exeter, Devon SIR – After the nauseating scenes in Alaska, how can the King, who admires Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky enormously, be expected to host and make small talk with Donald Trump next month? Roger White Sherborne, Dorset SIR – It is easy to claim that Donald Trump is 'rewarding' Vladimir Putin's aggression, but the Europeans are the ones who have continued to buy Russian oil, thus funding Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. As much as I would wish to see Ukraine regain all of its territory – including Crimea – and for Putin to be charged with war crimes, I do not see how either can actually happen. There is no way Ukraine is powerful enough to drive the Russians out of the Donetsk region. So that means there are only a few options. 1. The war goes on for many years, with neither side breaking through. 2. The US or Nato goes in to support Ukraine. This is never going to happen as it could start a world war. 3. Putin falls in a coup. This once looked likely. Not so much now. 4. Ukraine cedes most of the Donetsk region in return for a Nato guarantee on the rest of its territory. On balance, and as completely unfair as it will be, the fourth of these options appears to be the best of a very bad lot.
