World
Alaska Gold, Copper Mine Blocked Over Environmental Worries
Juneau, Alaska — Because of worries about how it would affect the environment of a rich aquatic ecosystem in Alaska that supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, the US Environmental Protection Agency took an unusually strong step on Tuesday and blocked a proposed mine that supporters called the world’s most important undeveloped copper and gold resource.
The decision, which was supported by Alaska Native tribes and environmentalists but criticized by some state officials and mining interests, kills the Pebble Mine plan for good. The planned location is in southwest Alaska’s remote Bristol Bay region, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
In a permit application to the US Army Corps of Engineers, the developer Pebble Limited Partnership said that the only way to get there in the winter is by helicopter or snowmobile. It proposed a mining rate of up to 73 million tons per year.
The Pebble partnership’s appeal of a separate rejection of a key federal permit still needs to be solved.
John Shively, the CEO of Pebble Limited Partnership, said in a statement that the EPA’s action was “illegal” and “political,” and he expected a lawsuit. Shively has said that the project is important to the Biden administration’s efforts to reach its green energy goals and lessen the US’s dependence on other countries for minerals.
Potential Impact On Alaska Fish
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., based in Canada, owns the Pebble Limited Partnership.
The Pebble deposit is located near the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed, which is home to a bounty of salmon “unrivaled anywhere in North America,” according to the EPA.
Only 14 times in the roughly 50-year history of the federal Clean Water Act has the EPA used its authority to prohibit or restrict activities based on their potential impact on waters, including fisheries. The use of the EPA’s so-called veto power in this case, according to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, “underscores the true irreplaceable and invaluable natural wonder that is Bristol Bay.”
According to Joel Reynolds, western director and senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the veto is a victory for the environment, economy, and tribes of Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, who have fought the proposal for over a decade.
According to Reynolds, the mine would have jeopardized the region’s salmon fishery, which employs 15,000 people and supplies roughly half of the world’s sockeye salmon. Last year, state officials reported more than 60 million fish harvested for 2022.
Science Over Politics
“It’s a victory for science over politics. For the sake of biodiversity over extinction. “I prefer democracy to corporate power,” Reynolds stated.
The EPA says that the discharge of dredged or filled material used to build and run the proposed mine site would cause about 100 miles (160 km) of stream habitat and wetlands to be destroyed.
According to the Pebble partnership, the project can coexist with salmon. According to the partnership’s website, the deposit is located at the headwaters of three “very small tributaries,” and the partnership is confident that any impacts on the fishery “in the unlikely event of an incident” would be “minimal.”
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, said the EPA’s veto set a dangerous precedent that could affect future development in the state, while state Attorney General Treg Taylor called the agency’s action “legally indefensible.”
“Alarmingly, it lays the groundwork to halt any mining or non-mining development project in any area of Alaska with wetlands and fish-bearing streams,” Dunleavy said.
Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski opposed the mine but said the EPA’s veto shouldn’t jeopardize future mining operations in the state.
“This determination must not be used as a precedent to target any other project in our state,” Murkowski said.
Dangerous Abuse Of Power
The EPA’s action, according to Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, is “the final nail in the coffin for the Pebble Mine” and the culmination of a long battle.
“For generations to come, we will have a thriving Bristol Bay salmon run,” she said.
Bristol Bay tribes petitioned the EPA in 2010 to protect the area under the federal Clean Water Act. The announcement from the EPA, according to Alannah Hurley, executive director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, is “welcome news.”
SalmonState executive director Tim Bristol praised the EPA’s decision, saying it “may be the most popular thing the federal government has ever done for Alaska.”
The EPA’s decision is the most recent in a years-long dispute over the project that has spanned administrations.
The decision was described as a “dangerous abuse of power and federal overreach” by Leila Kimbrell, executive director of the Resource Development Council for Alaska Inc. Domestic mining has “never been more important,” according to the National Mining Association, citing high demand for minerals and fragile global supply chains. It stated that the EPA’s decision “stands in stark contrast to national and global realities.”
SOURCE – (AP)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina formally sought on Thursday to join NATO as a worldwide partner, paving the stage for further political and security cooperation at a time when President Javier Milei’s right-wing government seeks to strengthen ties with Western powers and attract investment.
The request came as NATO Deputy General Secretary Mircea Geoana met with visiting Argentine Defense Minister Luis Petri in Brussels to discuss regional security problems.
Union – VOR News Image
Argentina Asks To Join NATO As President Milei Seeks A More Prominent Role For His Nation
Geoana said he supported Argentina’s bid to become an accredited partner in the alliance, which is a valuable role short of “ally” for nations outside NATO’s geographical territory and not compelled to participate in joint military actions. NATO membership is currently confined to European countries, Turkey, Canada, and the United States.
The classification may provide Argentina with access to modern technology, security systems, and training that it did not previously have, according to the Argentine presidency.
“Argentina plays an important role in Latin America,” Geoana stated at NATO headquarters. “Closer political and practical cooperation could benefit us both.”
Milei has been promoting a radical libertarian agenda aimed at undoing years of protectionist trade policies, overspending, and debilitating international debt that have thrown the country’s economy into disarray.
AP – VOR News Image
Argentina Asks To Join NATO As President Milei Seeks A More Prominent Role For His Nation
Over the last four months as president, he has reshaped Argentina’s foreign policy to one of almost unconditional support for the United States, as part of an effort to restore Argentina’s global economic prominence after previous administrations allowed relations with Washington and European allies to deteriorate.
Milei’s government is likewise looking for security gains from improved ties with Western countries. On Thursday, the US government revealed that it would provide Argentina with $40 million in foreign military financing for the first time in more than two decades, allowing critical US allies such as Israel to purchase American weapons.
The money, meant to assist Argentina equip and modernize its military, will help cover the cost of 24 American F-16 fighter aircraft purchased from Denmark earlier this week. Defense Minister Petri described the acquisition of the upgraded jets as “the most important military purchase since Argentina’s return to democracy” in 1983. Milei’s political opponents have criticized the $300 million price tag, which comes as he lowers government expenditure.
Formal partnership with NATO requires the agreement of all 32 NATO countries. Argentina’s relations with crucial NATO partner Britain have been strained since 1982, when the two went to war over the disputed Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.
The Alliance’s other global partners include Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, and Pakistan. Colombia is now NATO’s lone partner in Latin America.
Giving a country the title of “global partner” does not guarantee that NATO allies will defend it in the case of an attack. That pledge, outlined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s founding treaty, is limited to full members of the alliance.
Express – VOR News Image
Argentina Asks To Join NATO As President Milei Seeks A More Prominent Role For His Nation
NATO’s conversation with Argentina began in the early 1990s. Former President Bill Clinton labeled Argentina a “major non-NATO ally” in 1998, partly as a symbolic gesture to reward the pro-American government at the time for contributing soldiers on peacekeeping operations in Bosnia.
SOURCE – (AP)
WARSAW, Poland – A Polish man has been arrested on suspicion of preparing to spy for Russia’s military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Polish prosecutors said Thursday.
According to a statement released by Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office, the individual, known only as Pawel K. under Polish privacy regulations, was accused of preparing to transmit airport security information to Russian agents and was arrested in Poland on Wednesday.
AP News Image
Poland Arrests Man Suspected Of Spying For Russia To Aid Zelenskyy Assassination Plot
The man was looking for contact with Russians directly involved in the war in Ukraine and was expected to provide detailed information about the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in south-east Poland, near the Ukrainian border, which serves as the gateway for international military and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine. It also caters to leaders and politicians traveling in and out of Ukraine. The airport is controlled by US soldiers.
If convicted, the guy faces up to eight years in prison, according to the statement.
AP News – VOR News
Poland Arrests Man Suspected Of Spying For Russia To Aid Zelenskyy Assassination Plot
The prosecutors claimed that close cooperation with Ukrainian prosecutors and security agencies, who tipped them off and provided crucial evidence, made the arrest possible. They stated the case is progressing.
On Thursday, prosecutors in Germany announced the arrest of two German-Russian individuals on suspicion of espionage, with one accused of agreeing to carry out assaults on potential targets, including US military bases, in the hopes of damaging supplies to Ukraine.
Dieter S. and Alexander J. were arrested Wednesday in Bayreuth, Bavaria, according to German federal authorities.
Since Moscow initiated its campaign on Ukraine in February 2022, several persons have been arrested in Poland on suspicion of spying for Russia, including a dual Russian-Spanish citizen.
CNN – Vor News Image
Poland Arrests Man Suspected Of Spying For Russia To Aid Zelenskyy Assassination Plot
Poland, a European Union member, has been a loyal backer of neighboring Ukraine and Zelenskyy in their fight against Russia’s aggression for more than two years.
SOURCE – (AP)
World
US Navy Flies Aircraft Through The Taiwan Strait A Day After US – China Defense Chiefs Hold Rare Talks
TAIPEI, Taiwan — The U.S. 7th Fleet reported that a Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, a day after U.S. and Chinese defense leaders conducted their first discussions since November 2022 to ease regional tensions.
The patrol and reconnaissance jet “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” according to a 7th Fleet news release.
AP – VOR News Image
US Navy Flies Aircraft Through The Taiwan Strait A Day After US – China Defense Chiefs Hold Rare Talks
The statement stated, “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.”
The vital strait, 160 kilometers (100 miles) wide, separates China from the self-governing island democracy. Although it is on the international seas, China regards the passage of foreign military aircraft and ships through it as a threat to its sovereignty.
China claims Taiwan and has threatened to protect it with force if necessary, despite U.S. military support for the island.
According to a report on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command’s official Weibo social media site, China dispatched fighter jets to “monitor the U.S. plane’s passage” and operated “in accordance with laws and regulations.”
“Theater troops are on high alert at all times to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” Li said in a statement.
Taiwan News – VOR News Image
US Navy Flies Aircraft Through The Taiwan Strait A Day After US – China Defense Chiefs Hold Rare Talks
China often issues severe protests and deploys fortifications in reaction to the passage of ships and military planes across the Straight, particularly those from the United States.
China also regularly deploys navy ships and airplanes into the strait and other locations around the island to wear down Taiwan’s defenses and scare its 23 million people, who staunchly support their de facto independence.
“By operating in the Taiwan Strait in conformity with international law, the United States protects all nations’ navigational rights and freedoms. The aircraft’s passage through the Taiwan Strait underlines the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. According to the 7th Fleet statement, the United States military flies, sails, and operates wherever international law allows.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun, on Tuesday in the latest move to strengthen relations with the Chinese military and lessen the likelihood of a regional conflict.
It was Austin’s first time speaking with Dong and his first time speaking in depth with any Chinese counterpart since November 2022. The call lasted slightly more than an hour, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China this month for discussions.
ABC – VOR News Image
US Navy Flies Aircraft Through The Taiwan Strait A Day After US – China Defense Chiefs Hold Rare Talks
Military-to-military contact ended in August 2022 when Beijing terminated all communication following a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Asia. China replied by firing missiles over the country and increasing military exercises, including what seemed to be a rehearsal for a naval and aerial blockade of the island.
SOURCE – (AP)
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