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Europe
France
Friday 05 July 2024 10:02 BST Will Macron resign? Macron has hitherto ruled this out, but it might become more appealing to him if policy paralysis prevails. Neither parliament nor the government can force a president to resign. The constitution says there can be no new parliamentary election for another year, so an immediate repeat vote is not an option. (Source: independent *)
* The Independent, a British online newspaper. Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Italy
05 July 2024, 11:12 The SAC agency that operates Catania airport closed its airspace early today due to ash in the atmosphere caused by eruptions on Mount Etna. It was ash on the runways but expects flights to resume at 15:00 today. Catania Mayor's order is banning people from using two-wheeled forms of transport for 48 hours and setting a speed limit of 30 km/h because of the ash. The Sicilian island of Stromboli is on red alert because of volcanic activity there. Each part of the island's emergency evacuation plan was being verified. (Source: ansa *)
* Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata ("National Associated Press Agency"), the leading news agency in Italy.
European Council
(Friday), July 5, 2024 8:31am EDT Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the bloc on Monday. Five days in and PM Orbán has visited Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv and formed the "Patriots for Europe" alliance with other 'right-wing' 'nationalists'. Now, he has chosen to go to Moscow on a "peace mission", days before a NATO summit that will address further military aid for Ukraine. Putin, who received Orbán in the Kremlin, told him that he was ready to discuss the "nuances" of peace proposals to end the two-and-a-half-year-old war. EU foreign policy chief Borrell said Orbán in Moscow was 'not representing the EU in any form'. Orbán, a critic of Western military aid to Ukraine who has the warmest relations of any EU leader with Putin, said he recognized he had no EU mandate for the trip, but that peace could not be made 'from a comfortable armchair in Brussels'. "We cannot sit back and wait for the war to miraculously end," he wrote on X. (Source: foxnews *)
* Fox News Channel, an American news, commentary television channel and website, based in New York City
European Union
July 05, 2024 11:24 A 14-country study by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), a Berlin-based think tank, reveals that the majority of Europeans do not believe Ukraine can win the war against Russia. Of the EU countries surveyed, only Estonia had a higher proportion of respondents (38 percent) who think Ukraine will win. In contrast Ukrainians (58 percent) remain confident that their troops can win and continue to count on the support of their international allies. Only 1 percent of Ukrainians believe that Russia will win the war, while 30 percent believe a negotiated settlement is the most likely outcome. Europeans polled are divided on the benefits of Ukraine joining the EU. The countries most supportive are Portugal, Estonia, Sweden, Spain and Poland, while the most skeptical are Germany, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and France. However, the survey did not cover all countries. On defense spending, most countries are opposed to increasing contributions, except Poland (53 percent in favor), Estonia (45 percent), Sweden (41 percent) and Germany (40 percent). NATO leaders are unlikely to find support among the populations of member states for the deployment of troops. The percentage of those who support this idea varies between only 4 percent and 22 percent in different countries.
(Source: rmx *)
* Remix, published in Budapest, Hungary. Offers news and commentary from Central Europe, the Visegrád countries
Europol
FRI, 05 Jul, 2024 - 13:31 Over 2,000 items of anti-semitic content were identified online in Europe-wide policing operation for removal. The estimated 2,000 items of online content identified included Holocaust denial and the glorification of violence against Jews. Some 18 countries took part in the operation co-ordinated by Europol. It said the primary objective was to remove illegal content and ensure that online platforms adhered to European regulations concerning hate speech and discrimination. The Referral Action Day targeted a wide range of anti-semitic content, including hate speech, Holocaust denial, and the glorification of violence against the Jewish community, it said. It said the operation stemmed from the rise of widespread anti-semitism justified and cultivated in Jihadi-spheres and right-wing, as well as left-wing, extremist groups online. National Internet Referral Units and specialised police units from the following countries took part in this Referral Action Day: Albania, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. (Source: irishexaminer *)
* Irish Examiner, national daily newspaper, headquarters Corc, Ireland
Russia
13:14 BST, 5 July 2024 Moscow has claimed it wants tactical nuclear drills to 'cool the hot heads in Western capitals'. Findings from the Levada Centre show that some 34 per cent of Russians back Putin nuking Ukraine - five per cent higher than one year ago, more support than ever - for using the ultimate weapon in the conflict, following recent tactical nuclear drills. The upward trend shows the success of Russian propagandists. 31 per cent are definitely against the use of weapons, while 21 per cent are likely against it. On a photo taken from video on Monday, June 10, 2024, released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, a Russian Tu-22M3 bomber is seen in flight during joint Russian-Belarusian drills intended to train the military to use tactical nuclear weapons. Putin's forces were drilling strikes from land, air and sea-based platforms, intended to train the troops in using tactical nuclear weapons on June 12. Footage showed naval crews 'equipping sea-based cruise missiles with training special warheads' before moving to 'designated patrol areas'. Nuclear-equipped 3M-80/82 Moskit/-M anti-ship missiles were reportedly shown being loaded into the launcher of a Project 12411M vessel of Russia's Baltic Fleet. The forces drilled strikes with tactical nuclear weapons on Ukraine or the West with land, air and sea-based launches on June 13. The Russian defence ministry stressed the launches were simulated, but everything else was performed by troops as it would be in a genuine attack. A naval crew was seen pressing the button on a nuclear hit from a warship believed to be in the Baltic Sea to hit a target some 220 miles away, while Tu-22M3 nuclear capable bombers were pictured taking off from an undisclosed airstrip. Meanwhile, a land-based mobile crew in Leningrad Military District was shown loading suspected Iskander nuclear-capable mobile short-range ballistic missiles, although the warheads were blurred in the footage. The footage came as the US announced an expansion of its sanctions regime against the Kremlin. 'Here are the new American sanctions', Russia's deputy chairman of the Security Council Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister declared in a stunning rant published on the Telegram messaging app in June. 'There will be new European ones soon. Do we need to respond to them? It seems not, their number is already measured in tens of thousands. We have learned to live and develop with them. 'On the other hand, it is necessary. Not only to the authorities, the state, but to all our people in general. To everyone who loves our Motherland - Russia. After all, they - the USA and their f***ing allies - declared war on us without rules!' Medvedev went on: 'Every day we must try to inflict maximum harm on those countries that have imposed these restrictions on our country and all our citizens. Harm in everything that can cause harm. Harm to their economies, their institutions and their rulers. Harm to the well-being of their citizens. 'Cause damage in all places, paralyzing the work of their companies and government agencies. Find problems in their most important technologies and strike them mercilessly. Literally destroy their energy, industry, transport, banking and social services. Instill fear of the imminent collapse of all critical infrastructure'. 'Let's turn their life into a complete crazy nightmare in which they will not be able to distinguish wild fiction from the realities of the day, infernal evil from the routine of life. And no rules regarding the enemy! 'Let them get everything in full for harming Russia and as painfully as possible! Everyone can contribute!,' he said. Putin recently ordered tactical nuclear missile drills in Russia, considering changing the country's nuclear doctrine, to lower the threshold for using such weapons. Russian ally, neighbouring Belarus, supplied with atomic weapons, is also involved in coordination in the second stage of the tactical nuclear missile tests currently in progress. The drills are the second part of several phases of tactical nuclear weapons exercises planned by the Russian defence ministry. Currently Putin could authorise the use of tactical - or battlefield - nuclear weapons on the basis of a perceived threat to the Russian state from attack by conventional or nuclear weapons. On the orders of Putin, the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile crews practised deployment in two regions, Irkutsk and Ivanovo. 'Similar exercises will be held by other missile units in the near future,' said the Russian defence ministry. 'Units of Yars ground mobile missile systems are implementing measures to perform marches to a distance of up to 100km, disperse the systems at the same time changing their field positions and their engineering equipment, camouflage them and ensure their combat storage,' said the ministry. A still image taken from a handout video made available by the Russian Defence Ministry press-service shows Russian servicemen operating a non-strategic nuclear missile for Iskander operational-tactical missile system during the second stage of tactical nuclear drills of Russian and Belarus armed forces at an undisclosed location. 'During the second phase of the exercises, personnel from the rocket division and naval patrol operations of the Leningrad Military District practised covert movement to designated positions and conducted electronic missile launches at simulated enemy targets. 'Additionally, Navy crews involved in the exercise deployed to their assigned patrol areas. 'Earlier, tasks were completed for receiving special training ammunition for arming sea- and land-based missile carriers.' The Russians did not give a location for the targets, but previously threats have included Ukraine or NATO territory. Russia expects the incoming administration to be as supportive of Ukraine as the outgoing Rishi Sunak government. /photo/ (Source: dailymail *)
* The Daily Mail, a British newspaper. Headquarters London, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
14:58 5 July (2024) Sir Keir Starmer prime minister by lunchtime after 14 years under Tory rule. Labour set to govern the UK, it has won 412 seats. In many ways, this looks more like an election the Conservatives have lost than one Labour have won. The transition in 10 Downing Street is rapid. Early morning Rishi Sunak was speaking as he held on to his seat in Richmond, Yorkshire but conceded that the Labour Party had won the election. I take responsibility for the loss, Sunak said. They have performed strikingly badly in seats with large numbers of Muslim voters. Labour’s vote is down on average by 10 points in seats where more than 10% of the population identify as Muslim. The advances that the Conservatives secured in Leave-voting areas after the EU referendum, most notably in 2019, have been entirely lost. Compared with 2019, support for the Conservatives is down by 12 points in seats where less than 45% voted leave. In contrast, support for the party is down by 27 points in seats where more than 65% voted leave. With all the seats declared in Wales, the Tories have lost every single one they were defending, taking them back to the zero seats to which they fell in 1997. Sinn Féin is now the largest Westminster party from Northern Ireland with seven seats. Sinn Féin MPs do not take their seats in the House of Commons due to a long-standing policy of abstentionism. The Liberal Democrat Party's vote share is around 12%, managing 71 Westminster seats. Reform UK leader Farage has won a parliamentary seat. (Source: bbc *)
* The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a British public service broadcaster. Headquarters London, England, UK
(Friday), 5 July 2024 The British public went to the polls in the UK general election yestersay, handing Sir Starmer’s Labour Party a landslide victory and ousting Rishi Sunak’s unpopular Conservatives. Trump has congratulated his 'right-wing' ally Farage after he won his first seat in UK’s parliament following seven failed attempts. Trump made no mention of the Labour party sweep and failed to congratulate Starmer. (Source: independent *)
* The Independent, a British online newspaper. Headquarters London, United Kingdom
North America
United States
Jul 5, 2024 5:51pm PT Elections have been won and lost on television since the Nixon-Kennedy debate in 1960. And it may not be a fair expectation that a President be able to make the case on TV - but it is the expectation. Biden took eight days of preparation to give ABC News 22 minutes of screen time. It wasn’t enough. How much more preparation would have been? Or how much shorter should they have whittled down the interview? When, describing the stresses he is under, Biden said, “Not only am I campaigning, but I’m running the world,' viewers’ hearts may have stopped for a moment; Biden went on to clarify his statement, but a certain facility with words is simply gone. He waited eight days to give a scant amount of time to a relatively sympathetic interviewer - and this was the result. (Source: variety *)
* Variety, a magazine based in Los Angeles, California, U.S.
7/5/2024 3:30 PM In several summits, going back to a 2022 gathering in the Bavarian Alps, it was apparent that the president’s schedule was kept thin and his advancing years were being accounted and accommodated for in the planning. There is anxiety about how Biden will present at a NATO summit he is due to host in the US next week, where his every move, gesture and word will be scrutinized in an unforgiving light. It’s no longer possible to hide the fact that the president is a shadow of his former self and may not even be able to govern or set policies. One senior NATO diplomat said US counterparts have acknowledged they can’t afford such moments from the president and their priority is to ensure the summit is not overshadowed by the spotlight on Biden. Daalder, the former US ambassador to NATO, pointed to a moment in last week’s debate that was largely overlooked at home but jolted US allies: When Biden asked Trump if he’d defend a NATO country against Russian President Putin, Trump responded with a shrug. “That’s not a comforting answer for countries who have, for 75 years, depended on America’s security commitment to their defense as core to their security,” Daalder said in an interview. Biden heads into a make-or-break weekend that could end his political career if the lapses keep multiplying. On July 4, in an interview with the Philadelphia WURD radio station, he flubbed again and seemed to mix himself up with Vice President Harris, who is emerging as a clear alternative to Biden and unlike some other potential Democrat contenders already has both a national and international profile. (Source: msn */ Bloomberg)
* MSN (Microsoft Network), an American web portal
Jul 5 2024 Just days before President Biden told a host of Democratic colleagues of his plans to enact a self-imposed curfew, turning down any official events past 8pm. He has described himself as a "black woman" during a confused radio interview. The bumbling commander-in-chief, 81, appeared to mix himself up with Vice President Harris during the awkward chat. Biden, speaking to Philadelphia station WURD yesterday, said: 'I'm proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, first black woman… to serve with a black president.' He previously served as VP to President Obama, likely the source of his confusion. In the footage shared on Trump's own Truth Social network, he claimed Kamala would be taking over from Biden despite repeated comments from his camp which insist he won't quit. The MAGA leader ranted: "He just quit you know, he's quitting the race, he's out of the race." He continued: 'And that means we have Kamala [Harris]... She's so bad, she's so pathetic, she's so f*****g bad.' In a patronising sneer, Trump added: "Can you imagine that girl dealing with Putin and the president of China who is a very fierce person?" President Putin has bizarrely said he backs President Biden to win the election in November. He admitted to watching the painful debate and added: “I saw some fragments - but I have enough to do". /video/ (Source: the-sun *)
* The U.S.Sun, headquartered in Manhattan - a U.S. version of United Kingdom--based newspaper The Sun
July 5, 2024 Dr. Motykie, the top Beverly Hills surgeon who runs a medical spa in West Hollywood favored by celebrities has analyzed who he thinks has had more procedures done. Biden appears to have had more cosmetic surgery than rival Trump. He has undergone many cosmetic procedures to reverse the effects of aging and spent $160,000 approximately on multiple facelifts over the years. The 81-year-old also shows signs of eye lift and brow work. 'You can see it if you look at his neckline near his ears. Those are signs he's probably had one or two facelifts. He's also had upper and lower eyelid surgery because you can see that changing', he added. Biden's brow has an unnatural expression to it. In men that usually isn't done but about 20 years ago people did brow lifts. The former president appears to age more ‘naturally’ than Biden. Trump has mostly undergone hair reconstruction surgery leaving his neck and jawline all natural. His estimates reveal he spent around $100,000 on cosmetic procedures. "Trump battled with his hair for a while and I do think he's had multiple hair restoration surgeries', the doctor shared. The way his hair parts and flows suggests he is trying to disguise it. "I am suspicious he had an older technique done 30 years or more ago". He explained that the older hair restoration techniques come with some scarring which is why Trump’s hair often looks funny. Trump’s ex-wife Ivana has also confirmed in 1990 that he underwent scalp reduction surgery the previous year. Clarifying the accusations about Trump’s tanned orange look, Dr. Motykie claims that his famously orange skin color is due to tanners and makeup. (Source: ohmymag * / Daily Mail)
* Oh! mymag is "an infotainment web magazine" - an online media focused on news, lifestyle, health and wellness, targeting women of generations Y and Z.
NATO
Jul 05, 2024 The point of NATO is peace, not endless war - Opinion. 'NATO, the most successful military alliance in world history' started as a peace project, and its future success depends on its ability to maintain peace. But today, instead of peace, the agenda is the pursuit of war; instead of defense it is offense. All this runs counter to NATO's founding values. Hungary's historical experience is that such transformations never lead in a good direction. The task today should be to preserve the alliance as a peace project. When the Hungarian nation joined NATO it was the first time in several centuries - perhaps as long as five hundred years - that Hungary had voluntarily joined a military alliance. Our collective experience is one of wars periodically fought within alliance systems of which we did not originally want to be a part, and which were established with some form of conquest in mind - or at least with some explicitly militaristic goal. However much we sought to stay out of the two world wars, and however vehemently we tried to warn those countries we were forced into alliances with, each occasion brought a defeat that almost erased Hungary from the face of the Earth. Our losses were colossal. These wars left Hungary with no control over its future. After 1945 we became an unwilling part of the Soviet bloc, and thus also of the Warsaw Pact. In the second half of the 20th century Hungary was cut off from its natural civilizational environment - the West - and, more immediately, from the whole of Europe. In 1956 our revolution drove the first nail into the coffin of communism; and, as that system was finally being overthrown, our then-prime minister was the first leader in the former Eastern bloc to declare (in Moscow!) that the Warsaw Pact must be dissolved. The military alliance that had been imposed on us almost immediately broke up, and just a few days after that famous meeting in Moscow the Hungarian foreign minister was in Brussels, negotiating the commencement of our NATO accession process. 25 years ago, we saw in NATO our guarantee of peace and defense. In addition to our natural desire to free ourselves from Soviet domination and to join the West, a special factor made NATO attractive to us: we were finally joining a military alliance that was committed not to waging war but to keeping the peace, not to offensive expansion but to the defense of ourselves and one another. From a Hungarian perspective we could not have wished for anything better. U.S. President Truman, upon the founding of the alliance, summed up its essence in the following words: In this pact, we hope to create a shield against aggression and the fear of aggression - a bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business of government and society, the business of achieving a fuller and happier life for all our citizens. President Truman's words coincided with the aspirations of Hungarian history: peace. It is clear that the concept underpinning NATO was emphatically that of a military alliance for defense. Its primary task was to create a geopolitical environment in which the members of the alliance would mutually defend one another. This is not only a security guarantee, but also a competitive advantage. Mutual guarantees enable each member country to direct its resources to economic development rather than to warding off military threats. But there was another important element in President Truman's speech: NATO provides not only defense and deterrence, but also reassures external actors. "Twenty-five years ago, on September 16, 1999, as prime minister I was present when the Hungarian flag was raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels. This is how I summed up what joining the world's largest military alliance meant for us: "For Hungary, joining NATO also means peace. Well, to fight a war - even successfully - all you need are enemies; but to create lasting peace in this corner of the world is impossible without allies." Ever since then I have been closely following the development of the alliance's vision for the future, and the manner in which Hungary has been fulfilling the commitments it made when it joined. I have done so not only out of a general sense of political responsibility for Hungary, but also as a result of my personal memories and direct involvement. A sense of honor and a clear understanding of its self-interest dictate that when a country voluntarily joins a military alliance, its minimum obligation is to fulfill its commitments to that alliance. This is not least because the original purpose of NATO - to guarantee peace - demands strength, determination, and experience. And Hungary has done its utmost to increase its strength, demonstrate its determination, and gain experience in the maintenance of peace. Thus, together with our NATO allies, we participated in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, where Hungary was the first from the most recent intake of member countries to assume the national role of leader of a provincial reconstruction team. We have been a member of KFOR, the Kosovo peacekeeping mission, since day one in 1999, and Hungary is the fourth-largest contributor to that mission in terms of forces on the ground. Moreover, Hungary provides air defense for two other NATO allies, Slovakia and Slovenia, and - on a rotational basis - for the Baltic states. We also host the Central European Headquarters Multinational Division Centre, a key element of the military cooperation system forming part of NATO's Eastern Wing. Hungary is also of the opinion that, in addition to participating in missions, we can only demand solidarity from other NATO member countries if we are able to defend ourselves. This is a fundamental question of sovereignty". In order to rebuild Hungary's defense capabilities, our defense spending in 2023 was already 2 percent of GDP, in accord with the commitments we had made at the NATO summit in Wales the previous year. By July's NATO summit in Washington, in addition to Hungary two-thirds of member countries are expected to have met this requirement. In 2016 Hungary also embarked on a comprehensive force modernization program, and we are spending 48 percent of the defense budget on force development - more than double the NATO requirement. This has made us one of the 10 highest-performing member countries. We are purchasing the most modern equipment for the Hungarian Defence Forces. Our soldiers are already using Leopard tanks, new Airbus helicopters and Lynx and Gidrán armored vehicles, and we have acquired NASAMS air defense system units. Thanks also to the organizational modernization that is taking place in parallel with the acquisitions, the Hungarian Defence Forces have been raised from the combat level to the operational level. The rebuilding of the Hungarian defense industry is also in progress. The war in Ukraine has shown that European NATO member countries are facing a serious shortfall in military industrial capacity. The development of our defense industry had already started long before the outbreak of the war, as part of Hungary's economic development plans, but it has since become a key factor for NATO's future position. Hungary's defense industry focuses on six priority sectors: the manufacture of combat and other military vehicles, production of munitions and explosives, radio and satellite communications systems, radar systems, small arms and mortar production, and aerospace industry and drone development. Strengthening the Hungarian armed forces and defense industry benefits not only Hungary, but NATO as a whole. Hungary is an ally that, in addition to being a loyal partner, stands ready to actively cooperate with other members of the alliance to achieve its goals of preserving peace and ensuring predictable development. Hungary is punching above its weight in developing its defence capabilities, participating in missions, and developing its military forces. But when it comes to the future of NATO, we are not in full agreement with the majority of member countries. Today ever more voices within NATO are making the case for the necessity - or even inevitability - of military confrontation with the world's other geopolitical power centers. The more that NATO's leaders believe conflict to be inevitable, the greater will be their role in precipitating it. Today the self-fulfilling nature of this confrontation prophecy is becoming increasingly apparent, with the news that preparations have begun for a possible NATO operation in Ukraine - and even high-level reports that troops from NATO member countries are already near the Ukrainian front. Happily, though, Hungary has come to an important agreement with NATO acknowledging our essential role in the alliance while exempting us from its direct support efforts in Ukraine, whether military or financial, as a peace-loving nation. We understand NATO as a defensive alliance - which this agreement helps to ensure. Those who argue in favor of confrontation typically base their arguments on the military superiority of NATO and the Western world. Toynbee argued that "Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder." An external enemy, if it has any sense, will not dare to launch an attack on any NATO member country. 'As the strongest military alliance the world has ever known', it is not defeat at the hands of any external enemy that we should fear. But we should very much fear our own rejection of the values that gave birth to our alliance. The purpose for which NATO was created was to secure peace in the interest of stable economic, political, and cultural development. "NATO fulfills its purpose when it wins peace, not war. If it chooses conflict instead of cooperation, and war instead of peace, it will be committing suicide". From the very beginning NATO has existed as a defensive alliance. Therefore our task is to preserve it as what it was created to be: a peace project.
(Source: newsweek *)
The views expressed in the article are the writer's own, Viktor Orbán's, Prime Minister of Hungary.
* Newsweek is a weekly news magazine, based in New York City
Earth
10:00 AM EDT, Fri July 5, 2024 New research confirms the rotation of Earth's inner core has been slowing down in recent years as part of a decades-long pattern. Deep inside Earth is a solid metal ball that rotates independently of our spinning planet, like a top whirling around inside a bigger top. Since its discovery by Danish seismologist Lehmann in 1936, its rotation speed and direction has been at the center of a decades-long debate. Buried about 5,180 kilometers deep inside Earth, the solid metal inner core is surrounded by a liquid metal outer core. The inner core is made mostly of iron and nickel, and it is estimated to be as hot as the surface of the sun - about 5,400 degrees Celsius. Earth’s magnetic field yanks at this solid ball of hot metal, making it spin. At the same time, the gravity and flow of the fluid outer core and mantle drag at the core. Over many decades, the push and pull of these forces cause variations in the core’s rotational speed. “Differential rotation of the inner core was proposed as a phenomenon in the 1970s and ’80s, but it wasn’t until the ‘90s that seismological evidence was published,” said Dr. Waszek, a senior lecturer of physical sciences at James Cook University in Australia. Seismologists have gleaned information about the inner core’s motion by examining how waves from large earthquakes that ping this area behave. Variations between waves of similar strengths that passed through the core at different times enabled scientists to measure changes in the inner core’s position and calculate its spin. When scientists attempt to “see” all the way through the planet, they are generally tracking two types of seismic waves: pressure waves, or P waves, and shear waves, or S waves. P waves move through all types of matter; S waves only move through solids or extremely viscous liquids, according to the US Geological Survey. Seismologists noted in the 1880s that S waves generated by earthquakes didn’t pass all the way through Earth, and so they concluded that Earth’s core was molten. But some P waves, after passing through Earth’s core, emerged in unexpected places - a “shadow zone,” as Lehmann called it - creating anomalies that were impossible to explain. Lehmann was the first to suggest that wayward P waves might be interacting with a solid inner core within the liquid outer core, based on data from a massive earthquake in New Zealand in 1929. “Studies which followed over the next years and decades disagree on the rate of rotation, and also its direction with respect to the mantle,” Dr. Waszek added. Some analyses even proposed that the core didn’t rotate at all. The sloshing of metal-rich fluid in the outer core generates electrical currents that power Earth’s magnetic field, which protects our planet from deadly solar radiation. Though the inner core’s direct influence on the magnetic field is unknown, one model proposed in 2023 described an inner core that in the past had spun faster than Earth itself, but was now spinning slower. It’s rotation matched Earth’s spin, then it slowed even more, until the core was moving backward relative to the fluid layers around it. By tracking seismic waves from earthquakes that have passed through the Earth’s inner core along similar paths since 1964, the authors of the 2023 study found that the spin followed a 70-year cycle. By the 1970s, the inner core was spinning a little faster than the planet. It slowed around 2008, and from 2008 to 2023 began moving slightly in reverse, relative to the mantle. Now another team of scientists’ research published June 12 in the journal Nature confirms the core slowdown. It supports the 2023 proposal that the core deceleration is part of a decades-long pattern of slowing down and speeding up and also confirm that the changes in rotational speed follow a 70-year cycle, said study coauthor Dr. Vidale, Dean’s Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. For the new study, Vidale and his coauthors observed seismic waves produced by earthquakes in the same locations at different times. They found 121 examples of such earthquakes occurring between 1991 and 2023 in the South Sandwich Islands, an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the east of South America’s southernmost tip. The researchers also looked at core-penetrating shock waves from Soviet nuclear tests conducted between 1971 and 1974. When the core turns, Vidale said, that affects the arrival time of the wave. Comparing the timing of seismic signals as they touched the core revealed changes in core rotation over time, confirming the 70-year rotation cycle. According to Vidale team’s model and calculations, the core is just about ready to start speeding up again in about five to 10 years. The seismographs also revealed that, during its 70-year cycle, the core’s spin slows and accelerates at different rates. One possibility is that the metal inner core isn’t as solid as expected. If it deforms as it rotates, that could affect the symmetry of its rotational speed, Vidale said. The team’s calculations also suggest that the core has different rotation rates for forward and backward motion. Changes in core spin - though they can be tracked and measured - are all but imperceptible to people on Earth’s surface. When the core spins more slowly, the mantle speeds up. This shift makes Earth rotate faster, and the length of a day shortens. But such rotational shifts translate to mere thousandths of a second in day length, Vidale said. The mysterious region where the liquid outer core envelops the solid inner core, where solid and fluid are meeting and moving, this boundary might have volcanoes, he said.
(Source: cnn *)
* Cable News Network (CNN), a multinational news channel and website. Headquarters Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
