Author: Dustin Allen

The groups include the Sierra Club, Cook Inletkeeper and the Center for Biological Diversity. A handful of environmental conservation groups that oppose the proposed Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas Project on Friday announced their latest move in a yearslong legal back-and-forth with the U.S. Department of Energy. The groups — which include the Sierra Club, Cook Inletkeeper and the Center for Biological Diversity — are appealing a department ruling handed down in June, which upheld the department’s 2020 approval of oil and gas exports from the long-awaited pipeline project. The Alaska LNG Project would move gas from the North Slope through…

The Alaska Board of Education and Early Development has selected former Anchorage School District superintendent Deena Bishop to be the state’s new education commissioner. The board voted unanimously Wednesday evening in favor of Bishop’s appointment. Her term will begin Aug. 9, pending Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s approval. The department has been operating under an acting commissioner since last June, when the previous commissioner, Michael Johnson, resigned. Bishop served as ASD superintendent from 2016 to 2022, and toward the end of her tenure, her role was heavily shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before working as Anchorage’s schools superintendent, she was superintendent of…

The United States says “the door is open” for New Zealand to join AUKUS, as geopolitical competition reaches fever pitch in the Pacific, with three of the world’s most influential leaders continuing lightning tours of the region.   US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in New Zealand after opening the new US embassy in Tonga on Wednesday. He has met with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. His tour comes as French President Emmanuel Macron visits Vanuatu, where he has given a speech in the capital Port Vila warning that Pacific “sovereignty and independence” is being shaken by what he describes as “new imperialisms”. Mr Macron is in Vanuatu…

Frankfurt, Brussels (21/7 – 37) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again reversed course, approving Sweden’s bid to join the legacy European military bloc, having been promised a brace of classic F-16 fighter jets. This new deal was hammered out at the recent NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and included a vow by Türkiye to avoid quarrels with ancient enemy Greece also a NATO member. During a 12 July press conference on in Vilnius, Erdogan touched on several issues important for Türkiye, including ratifying Sweden’s NATO bid, its F-16 jet deal with the US, and a “balancing act” between…

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill and Megan Thee Stallion will headline this year’s Global Citizen Festival, as the anti-poverty nonprofit looks to focus attention on increasing inequality for girls and young women around the world. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill and Megan Thee Stallion will headline this year’s Global Citizen Festival as the anti-poverty nonprofit looks to focus attention on increasing inequality for girls and young women around the world. Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans said the Sept. 23 event at New York’s Central Park will be the centerpiece of his group’s campaign to encourage supporters,…

US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens quietly traveled to Venezuela this week, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to CNN Wednesday. Carstens traveled to the capital city of Caracas for “discussions about the welfare and safety of US nationals wrongfully detained in Venezuela,” the spokesperson said. “We continue to advocate for the immediate and unconditional release of all wrongfully detained US nationals in Venezuela at every opportunity,” they said. There are four Americans known to be detained in Venezuela: Eyvin Hernandez and Jerrel Kenemore, who have been declared wrongfully detained, and Luke Denman and Airan Berry. The spokesperson said that…

Hundreds of thousands of protesters have gathered in Warsaw for one of Poland’s largest demonstrators since the fall of communism in 1989. Most opposition parties have called on supporters to join the march against the nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS), led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Among those attending are former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and former President Lech Walesa. The PiS has condemned the gathering as a “march of hate”. The mayor’s office for Warsaw has estimated half a million people attended the event, which fell on the 34th anniversary of Poland’s first partially-free elections. Many travelled from across the…

Authorities in Hong Kong have been actively removing books about the Tiananmen Square Massacre from library shelves to silence the past. But communities overseas are keeping the legacy alive. As Chinese communities around the world mark the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre on Sunday, many overseas Chinese, including those from Hong Kong, are expected to attend one of the numerous vigils set to take place in different parts of the world. However, in Hong Kong itself, where the tradition originated more than three decades ago, there will be no public event commemorating those who lost their lives in 1989.…

Canada’s chief electoral officer is planning talks this fall with federal parties to discuss riding nomination races — which may have been targeted for manipulation on at least one occasion by Beijing. In his first report on foreign interference, former governor general David Johnston found “well-grounded suspicion” that the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Toronto was behind irregularities with Han Dong’s 2019 federal Liberal nomination victory. Dong had no knowledge of the irregularities, according to the report. Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault may follow those talks with recommendations to amend the Canada Elections Act, the non-partisan agency said. While…

BEIJING/MOSCOW: China and Russia have expressed concern over the “Washington Declaration” signed by the United States and South Korea earlier this week, with Beijing conveying its “strong dissatisfaction” to Seoul over the mention of “need for peace and stability” in the waters around Taiwan. a foreign ministry statement said on Friday. The Russian foreign ministry said the agreement would destabilise the region and the wider world. Liu Jinsong, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s Asian affairs department, met South Korean embassy minister Kang Sang-wook in Beijing on Thursday evening to emphasise China’s stance on Taiwan and urged Seoul to adhere…