https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaG07sTJENxyeTTfph1G *INTERNATIONAL NEWS* *12 February 2025* *NEWS HEADLINES* *NASA’s Webb Telescope To Scan Asteroid Threatening To Hit Earth* *Almost every nation on Earth misses UN deadline for new climate targets* *SA’s military reinforces beleaguered DRC mission* *NEWS IN DETAIL* *NASA’s Webb Telescope To Scan Asteroid Threatening To Hit Earth* You know it’s serious when they bring in the big guns, or at least the big lenses. The European Space Agency confirms that the James Webb Space Telescope – humanity’s most powerful eye on the cosmos – will soon turn to observe asteroid 2024 YR4, the space rock with a small chance of impacting Earth in 2032. “The chance of impact is very slim, and the asteroid is small enough that the effects of any potential impact would be on a local scale,” the ESA wrote in a blog post. “But the situation is significant enough to warrant the attention of the global planetary defence community.” The Webb telescope is managed as an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The announcement is significant and reflects the level of concern because time using Webb is assigned and booked out by researchers and institutions well in advance. Using the telescope to take a closer look at the potentially hazardous asteroid on short notice is considered a “time-critical” emergency decision. Asteroid 2024 YR4 was first spotted on December 27 and was added to the “risk list” of near-Earth objects (NEOs) that appear to have a chance of impacting our planet. It’s very common for new asteroids to be discovered and added to this list, only to fall off it completely as new observations come in. Additional observations often refine the orbital path of an object, helping to eliminate any possibility of impact. Asteroid 2024 YR4 is the rare case where the opposite has happened. In recent weeks, as more observations have come in, the odds of impact on December 22, 2032 have actually gone up, from about one percent to about two percent. This means that it is still very likely the object will pass right by our planet without incident, but scientists are taking no chances and opting to use valuable Webb telescope time to get more precise measurements of its orbit and size. Not a Planet-Killer Asteroid, But Still Dangerous The latest data puts the diameter of the asteroid at between 40 and 90 meters. The lower end of that scale is what the bolide that impacted and exploded in the atmosphere over Russia in 2013 was thought to have measured before colliding with Earth. The impact created a shock wave that blew out thousands of windows in the city of Chelyabinsk, leading to hundreds of minor injuries. The resulting meteorite impacted a nearby frozen lake and was later pulled up from the water. After its long and fiery journey to the ground, it measured little more than a meter across. That’s what may happen to a 40-meter asteroid on impact, but the ESA points out that a 90 meter asteroid could be a very different story. The damage done could be significant, perhaps more on par with the 1908 Tunguska event in Siberia that leveled millions of trees and may be linked to a handful of deaths. If such an impact were centered on a major city rather than wilderness, the results could be truly catastrophic. The first round of observations by the Webb telescope for the menacing rock are set to happen in March, with follow-ups scheduled for May. Hopefully we’ll soon have a more clear picture of the threat and how serious we should be planning for science-fiction scale contingencies to confront it. _Forbes.com_ *Almost every nation on Earth misses UN deadline for new climate targets* Nearly every nation on the planet missed a UN deadline Monday to submit new targets for reducing their carbon emissions. Global emissions need to almost halve by the end of the decade to limit rising global temperatures to the levels agreed under the Paris Agreement. Nearly all nations missed a UN deadline Monday to submit new targets for slashing carbon emissions, including major economies under pressure to show leadership following the US retreat on climate change. Just 10 of nearly 200 countries required under the Paris Agreement to deliver fresh climate plans by February 10 did so on time, according to a UN database tracking the submissions. Under the climate accord, each country is supposed to provide a steeper headline figure for cutting heat-trapping emissions by 2035, and a detailed blueprint for how to achieve this. Global emissions have been rising but need to almost halve by the end of the decade to limit global warming to safer levels agreed under the Paris deal. UN climate chief Simon Stiell has called this latest round of national pledges "the most important policy documents of this century". Yet just a handful of major polluters handed in upgraded targets on time, with China, India and the European Union the biggest names on a lengthy absentee list. Most G20 economies were missing in action with the United States, Britain and Brazil – which is hosting this year's UN climate summit – the only exceptions. The US pledge is largely symbolic, made before President Donald Trump ordered Washington out of the Paris deal. Accountability There is no penalty for submitting late targets, formally titled nationally determined contributions (NDCs). They are not legally binding but act as an accountability measure to ensure countries are taking climate change seriously and doing their fair share toward achieving the Paris goals. The sluggish response will not ease fears of a possible backslide on climate action as leaders juggle Trump's return and other competing priorities from budget and security crises to electoral pressure. Ebony Holland from the International Institute for Environment and Development said the US retreat was "clearly a setback" but there were many reasons for the tepid turnout. "It's clear there are some broad geopolitical shifts underway that are proving to be a challenge when it comes to international cooperation, especially on big issues like climate change," said Holland, a policy lead at the London-based think tank. The EU, historically a leader on climate policy, has been delayed by elections and internal processes and is bracing for fresh polls in Germany and Poland. An EU spokeswoman said a collective target for the 27-nation bloc would be unveiled "well ahead" of the UN COP30 climate conference in November. "We will continue to be a leading voice for international climate action," she said. Analysts say China – both the world's biggest polluter and its largest renewable energy investor – was also expected to release its much-anticipated NDC in the second half of 2025. The United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, Saint Lucia, New Zealand, Andorra, Switzerland and Uruguay rounded out the list of countries that made Monday's cut-off. Missing in action Evans Njewa, a Malawian diplomat and chair of the Least Developed Countries group, said many poorer nations lacked the financial resources and technical expertise to compile such complex, economy-wide policies. "Big emitters, whose historical and ongoing pollution has driven the climate crisis, must take responsibility and lead by example," he told AFP. Countries have been consistently late in filing periodic updates to their NDCs since the Paris accord was signed in 2015. Last week, Stiell asked that countries turn in "first-rate" submissions by September so they could be properly assessed before the UN climate summit in Belem. "The worsening climate crisis will not wait or pause its disastrous impact as nations delay their action plans," said Tracy Carty from Greenpeace International. Linda Kalcher, executive director of the Strategic Perspectives think tank, said in some cases it was better that countries work on fine tuning quality proposals, rather than rushing out something weaker. "The concern is that if too many countries delay, you could give the perception that they're not willing to act," she told AFP. _France24/AFP_ *Elon Musk’s son X steals show in the Oval Office with Trump - but his mother Grimes is furious* During the meeting, Musk acknowledged his drive to make swift and extensive cuts to the US federal government had made mistakes. But it was his son who was the star of the show, wearing a knee length camel coat, thick gold chain, and picking his nose while standing next to President Trump. Elon, who has 12 children from three different women, welcomed X in May 2020 with his ex-girlfriend pop artist Grimes. Read more: Trump doubles down on pledge to 'take over Gaza', as Netanyahu threatens return to war if Israeli hostages not freed But the star was furious at her son’s appearance, saying it was a "personal tragedy" that X was being paraded in public. She posted on social media saying: "I have made it clear I do not approve of that in every conceivable way I know how. "I am desperate to solve it. It is a personal tragedy to me." Mr Musk stood next to the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office with his young son as President Donald Trump praised his work with his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), saying they have found "shocking" evidence of wasteful spending. The president signed an executive order to expand Mr Musk's influence and continue downsizing the federal workforce. Despite concerns that he is amassing unaccountable power with little transparency, Mr Musk described himself as an open book as he took questions from reporters for the first time since joining the Trump administration as a special government employee. He claimed DOGE's work was being shared on its website and on X, the social media platform he owns, although the DOGE website has no information and the postings on X often lack many details, including which programmes are being cut and where the organisation has access. The White House has also been moving to limit independent oversight. The inspector general for the US Agency for International Development was fired a day after warning it had become nearly impossible to monitor 8.2 billion dollars (£6.6 billion) in humanitarian funds after DOGE began dismantling the agency. Mr Musk defended DOGE's work as "common sense" and "not draconian or radical". "The people voted for major government reform, and that's what the people are going to get," he said. "That's what democracy is all about." He acknowledged, in response to a question about false statements that the US was spending 50 million dollars (£40.2 million) on condoms for Gaza, that some of the claims he has made about government programmes have been wrong. "Some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected," he said, acknowledging that DOGE could be making errors as well. "We are moving fast, so we will make mistakes, but we'll also fix the mistakes very quickly." He said there are some good people in the federal bureaucracy, but they need to be accountable, describing the workforce as an "unelected" fourth branch that had "more power than any elected representative". The executive order signed by Mr Trump said a DOGE representative will need to approve almost all new hiring, a dramatic consolidation of personnel management across the federal government. "The agency shall not fill any vacancies for career appointments that the DOGE Team Lead assesses should not be filled, unless the Agency Head determines the positions should be filled," the order said. In addition, the Office of Management and Budget will require that agencies "hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart" with exceptions when it comes to immigration, law enforcement and public safety. Agency leaders were also directed to plan for "large-scale reductions in force". Government functions not required by statute would be prioritised for elimination. Mr Trump and Mr Musk are already pushing federal workers to resign in return for financial incentives, although their plan is on hold while a judge reviews its legality. The deferred resignation programme, commonly described as a buyout, would allow employees to quit and still get paid until September 30. Administration officials said more than 65,000 workers have taken the offer. Hundreds of people gathered for a rally on Tuesday across the street from the US Capitol in support of federal workers. Janet Connelly, a graphic designer with the Department of Energy, said she is fed up with emails from the Office of Personnel Management encouraging people to take the deferred resignation programme. "From the get-go, I didn't trust it," she said. "It's too easy to vilify us."_LBC_