FirstUp: Danish elections, IPCC meet... The big news today

It’s a big day in terms of news.

Denmark is set to hold its general elections today (March 24), with voters set to determine who sits in the 179-member parliament.

Meanwhile, the Belgian royal couple is set to make a state visit to Oslo.

Also, the Hill & Valley Forum will be held in Washington, DC, with big names such as JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon, NASA's Jared Isaacman and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler in attendance. The 64th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will begin in Bangkok, Thailand. And finally, the OnePlus 15T is scheduled to launch in China today.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s big news

Danish general elections

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the polls in the backdrop of the standoff with US President Donald Trump over his designs on the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland.

Frederiksen likely hopes that her handling of the Greenland crisis, in which she appeared straight-talking and tough, will give her a boost with Danish voters.

More from Explainers

“It is now up to you, the voters, to decide what direction Denmark will take over the next four years. And I am looking forward to it,” Frederiksen, 48, said as she made her announcement in parliament. “This will be a crucial election for us, because in the next four years, we as Danes and as Europeans will really have to stand on our own two feet.”

“We must define our relationship with the U.S. We must arm ourselves to ensure peace on our continent. We must keep Europe together,” she added, referring to Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine, which is now in its fifth year.

State visit of Belgian royal couple to Oslo

The Belgian monarchs, Philippe of Belgium and Mathilde of Belgium, will undertake a state visit to Norway today. They will be received by King Harald V of Norway and Queen Sonja of Norway.

The scheduled events include an official welcome ceremony in Palace Square, a floral tribute at the national monument at Akershus Fortress and a meeting with the President of Norway’s Parliament.

The Belgian monarchs will also have a traditional gala dinner at the Royal Palace. Interestingly, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Belgium’s future queen, has pulled out of the trip. This comes amid fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway has announced she will be skipping the trip. Wikimedia Commons

Norway’s crown princess has claimed she was manipulated and deceived by the late sex offender and that she felt unsafe during a 2013 encounter with the American financier at his Palm Beach, Florida, mansion.

Mette-Marit is married to Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the throne. She and Haakon spoke to Norwegian broadcaster NRK in a 20-minute interview that occurred the same day the criminal trial against her son, Marius Borg Høiby, concluded.

Hill & Valley Forum hosts officials, tech executives

The Hill & Valley Forum, which describes itself as a bipartisan alliance linking Washington and Silicon Valley, will be holding its third summit in Washington, DC, today.

Attendees include leaders such as Jamie Dimon, Dylan Field, Jared Isaacman, Joe Gebbia, and Hemant Taneja. Some of the topics set to be discussed include “Made in America Supply Chain”, “NATO and European Industrial Power”, “Space Economy”, “Critical Minerals and America's Industrial Rebuild”, “Government and Intelligent Designed Systems”, “Biotech Supply Chain Security” and “Winning the AI Race”.

The event, which brings policymakers, investors, and innovators together to advance national security and economic competitiveness, will be livestreamed online.

64th session of IPCC

The 64th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-64) will begin today. The three-day session will be held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Sheep rest on a dry piece of land on Ilse and Christian Pienaar's farm near Mossel Bay, during a severe drought in parts of the Western Cape, South Africa. File image/Reuters

The IPCC was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1988. Its objectives were to “assess, in a comprehensive, objective, open, and transparent manner, the scientific, technical, and socio-economic information relevant to understanding human-induced climate change, its potential impacts, and adaptation and mitigation options”.

However, it is important to understand what the IPCC does. The programme does not conduct new research or monitor climate-related data. Instead, it assesses the state of climate change based on published, peer-reviewed scientific and technical literature.

OnePlus 15T launch

OnePlus will launch its new OnePlus 15T at 4.30 pm IST in China today. While some pre-orders have already opened, it remains unclear how much the phone will cost in India.

The OnePlus 15T will come with a 3nm octa-core Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset from Qualcomm.  It will have a 7,500 mAh battery and a dual camera. The phone will likely have a 6.32-inch flat display with a smooth 165Hz refresh rate. It will also likely include the G2 Wi-Fi chip, similar to the OnePlus 15, as well as a next-gen “Wind Chaser Gaming” kernel that supports up to 165fps gameplay at 1.5K resolution.

The battery will likely allow 22.8 hours of video playback, 13 hours of navigation, or 10.3 hours of gaming on a single charge. The phone will also likely support 100W SuperVOOC wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging. It will have several versions, including those with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage. Its colour options include Relaxing Matcha, Pure Cocoa, and Healing White Chocolate.

With inputs from agencies