Author: Carlos White

The state of Alaska wants the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a federal agency’s rejection of a proposed copper and gold mine in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region The state of Alaska wants the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a federal agency’s rejection of a proposed copper and gold mine in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in January blocked the proposed Pebble Mine, citing concerns with potential impacts on a rich aquatic ecosystem that supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. It was the 14th time in the roughly 50-year history of the federal Clean Water Act that…

Soldiers in Niger declared a military coup on Wednesday, overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum. The landlocked nation, a key U.S. ally in the region, has received millions in assistance from Washington. Here are answers to questions about U.S.-Niger ties: WHY IS NIGER IMPORTANT TO THE UNITED STATES? The country, located in the semi-arid Sahel region, plays an outsized role in the United States’ Africa strategy. Most importantly, it is a key partner for Washington’s fight against Islamist insurgents who have killed thousands of people and displaced millions more. U.S. military personnel have been training local forces to fight militant groups. The…

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday said they disapproved of the United States’ decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions to help break through Russian defensive lines. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the head of the Spanish Defense Ministry said she did not share and was “against” the US decision to send cluster shells to Ukraine, but stressed that she respected the decision of a “sovereign country.” “Spain, based on the firm commitments it has with Ukraine, also has a firm commitment that certain weapons and bombs cannot be delivered under any circumstances……

Maternal mortality in the U.S. has gotten worse in recent decades, a study shows, particularly for Native and Black women. Recent research indicates efforts to improve maternal health in the U.S. have largely failed, with the maternal mortality rate more than doubling over the past two decades amid vast disparities between racial and ethnic groups. Findings from a novel state-by-state analysis of maternal deaths, published this month in JAMA, show the rate of death among people 10 to 54 years old who were either pregnant or had been pregnant within the past year rose from 12.7 deaths per 100,000 live births…

Rahmon’s war against the Ismaili. Dubai (5/7 – 75) The government of Tajikistan’s campaign against the operations of a charitable organization funded by the Agha Khan, the spiritual leader of the country’s Ismaili minority, has intensified over the past few weeks. In the most recent development, the authorities have revoked the license of the Aga Khan Lycée in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, or GBAO. A source at the Aga Khan Foundation told Eurasianet that June 30 was the last day that the secondary school would operate under its aegis. The Aga Khan Development Network, the umbrella…

On 21 June 2023, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union hosted the EU-US Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs in Stockholm. The European Union was represented by the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, the Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, as well as the Swedish Minister for Justice, Gunnar Strömmer. The incoming Presidency of the Council was represented by the Spanish Minister of Justice, Maria Pilar Llop Cuenca and the Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska. The United States was represented by Attorney General, Merrick Garland and Secretary for Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas. The meeting…

Plan your next aurora-hunting adventure in the Land of the Midnight Sun. The northern lights are one of the most mesmerizing and awe-inspiring natural phenomena in the world. Also known as the aurora borealis, these dancing waves of color and light pulsate through the skies in vibrant hues of green, yellow, blue, pink and violet, putting on a surreal show for spectators. This dazzling spectacle in the sky is created by energized particles from the sun that reach speeds of up to 45 million mph as they crash into the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Since the planet is protected by its…

CONGRESSIONAL leaders asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to raise the issue of China’s “bullying” in the region when he meets with US President Joe Biden in Washington next week. “In a time where there is so much tension in the region, our nation must look toward our friends who share the values of freedom and democracy as well as respect for each and every nation’s sovereignty,” said Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel 3rd said that all parties using parts of the South China Sea must come up with some sort of a code of conduct.…

An almost $123 billion “contingency” has been set aside for Australia’s largest ever defence project, according to a new analysis of the AUKUS nuclear submarine program prepared by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO). Figures compiled this month show the Defence Department expects the whole-of-program costs to reach up to $9 billion over the initial three years, but yearly expenditure to rapidly increase during the final three decades leading up to 2055. A breakdown of costs for the $368 billion nuclear-powered submarine program reveals Defence has included a provision for a 50 per cent contingency of $123 billion, which is not allocated by year…

The United States has accused China of “harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels” and called on Beijing to end “provocative” action in the South China Sea after a recent near-collision between a Chinese vessel and a Philippine Coast Guard boat. “We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement on Saturday, just two days before President Joe Biden is to host his counterpart, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, in Washington, DC. The State Department also warned that an attack on Philippine security forces or public vessels would trigger a…