Due to what it called national security concerns, the administration of US President Donald Trump has suspended leases on five large-scale offshore wind projects, sending offshore wind companies’ shares into the sand.
The Atlantic coast projects that were already being built were suspended on Monday, which was the most recent blow for offshore wind developers who have experienced repeated delays under Trump.
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While working to get more money off of renewable energy, the US president has stated that he finds windmills to be ugly, expensive, and inefficient.
By late morning, Danish energy firm Orsted’s shares were down more than 12%, while lower-than-12% shares were traded by Dominion and Equinor.
The US Department of Defense said it had raised concerns that the military might be unable to spot threats because of the movement of enormous turbine blades for offshore wind projects and the towers that support them.
Secretary of State for Interior Doug Burgum stated in a statement that “the United States government’s top responsibility is to protect the American people.”
According to the department, the pause will allow relevant federal agencies to work with leaseholders and state partners to examine the possibility of reducing the risks posed by these projects for national security.
According to the department, the pause will have an impact on Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 project, Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ Vineyard Wind 1 project, Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, and Orsted’s Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects.
The administration was urged to end the pause quickly by the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), a trade association representing offshore wind developers.
Every project under construction has already been reviewed by the Department of Defense with no objections, according to NOIA President Erik Milito, who adheres to a strict framework for assessing the implications for national security of proposed projects.
No immediate comment was made on Orsted, Equinor, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
Dominion claims that the suspension will affect Virginia customers’ ability to access the power grid, including those at military installations and data centers that power artificial intelligence.
These electrons will power the data centers that will defeat the AI race, our nuclear warships, and our nuclear allies, according to a statement from the company.
Anti-wind stance
The administration’s latest order to halt offshore wind projects that are already being built came on Monday.
The Revolution Wind project’s advanced construction was ordered to stop off the Rhode Island coast by the administration in August, but a federal judge later lifted the ban.
In a move that made a compromise with New York state possible, Trump supported a natural gas pipeline, the administration lifted a stop-work order on Equinor’s Empire Wind earlier in the year.
Trump campaigned for the White House under the pretext of ending the offshore wind industry, contending that “windmills” are too expensive and harm whales and birds. Instead, he has advocated for drilling for oil and gas.
Authorities claim there aren’t enough food, tents, and equipment to accommodate everyone fleeing Sudan’s war. Mohamed Vall from Al Jazeera visited the northern Sudanese Ghoz-el-Salam camp.
A Doctors Without Borders (MSF) official warns Sudanese families who have been forced to flee the war-torn Darfur region are dealing with a dangerous measles outbreak that is quickly spreading.
The group has been “overwhelmed” by measles cases arriving each day at the Nyala Teaching Hospital in South Darfur, where MSF provides paediatric and maternal healthcare, according to Dr. Ali Almohammed, an MSF emergency health manager, according to Al Jazeera on Monday.
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Almohammed said in an interview from Amsterdam, “We have 25 beds]in] isolation for measles, but the number of cases is rising daily.”
“MSF has a really limited capacity to meet the needs of the people in Darfur. We can’t cover everything. Yes, we are attempting to provide the best medical care, but our resources are also constrained, he said.
In recent weeks, violence between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has risen precipitously in the western region of Darfur and neighboring areas.
After the RSF seized control of El-Fasher, the state’s capital, in late October after an 18-month siege, more than 100, 000 people have fled their homes.
UN and other humanitarian organizations have stressed that trapped civilians lack medicines, food, and other essential supplies and have recently received a warning from the UN that Darfur has become “the epicentre of human suffering in the world.”
more than 1,300 brand-new cases
Since September, more than 1,300 new measles cases have been reported in Darfur, according to MSF.
Measles, a highly contagious virus, causes high fevers, coughing, and rashes.
According to a fact sheet from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is particularly dangerous for children under the age of five because it can lead to serious health issues.
MSF reported this week that while nearly 179, 000 Sudanese children had been vaccinated against the disease over the course of the past six months, only a small number of the 5 million people who are at risk.
Due to the ongoing conflict, the organization claimed that it is unable to operate in most of North Darfur, including El-Fasher, or East Darfur.
Almohammed also cautioned that Darfur is currently experiencing a “drop in the ocean” of vaccines, including those that are necessary for other preventable diseases like diphtheria and whooping cough.
MSF claims that there have been “significant administrative and bureaucratic hurdles” as well as ongoing violence in the shipping of vaccines.
The organization’s statement read, “We urge authorities to immediately remove all bureaucratic and administrative obstacles to the transport of vaccines throughout Darfur.”
“Unicef needs to coordinate efforts to increase the transport and delivery of vaccines, syringes, and the necessary supplies at the same time.
Healthcare is attacked.
Meanwhile, Sudanese healthcare facilities have experienced worsening conditions for both civilians and medical personnel.
Out of 73 health workers who had been detained by the paramilitary group, nine were released from detention on Saturday, according to the Sudan Doctors Network, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.
The network called for the release of all detained medical personnel and civilians without exception despite recognizing the action as a “positive” step.
Since the start of the conflict in mid-April 2023, according to the World Health Organization, attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan have resulted in 1, 858 fatalities and 490 injuries.
In recent months, Nyala has detained at least 70 health workers and roughly 5, 000 civilians, it added.
At Turning Point USA’s annual conference, prominent conservative figures in the country clashed, exposing the root causes of the conflict between US President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) base and the ruling Republican Party.
Republican leaders, media figures, and conservative activists all gathered for a four-day conference in Phoenix, Arizona, which revealed deep ideological disagreements within the conservative movement.
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Ben Shapiro, Megyn Kelly, and Tucker Carlson, media figures, criticized one another on the stage while discussing the issues of free speech, bigotry, and other related topics.
What is Turning Point USA (TPUSA), and what can we learn from the first AmericaFest conference since Charlie Kirk, the group’s founder, passed away in September?
Describe TPUSA.
Charlie Kirk, who was killed in Utah in September during an event, founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative nonprofit organization with a US base. Erika Kirk succeeded Kirk in becoming the CEO of TPUSA after his death.
The group, which supports free-market principles and limited government, has more than 850 chapters spread across college campuses nationwide.
Political speeches, networking, and cultural programming are included in the AmericaFest conference, which has been held annually since 2021, in an effort to pique young conservative activists’ interest.
Erika Kirk, CEO and chairman of Turning Point USA, speaks with American rapper Nicki Minaj [AFP]
At what conference did AmericaFest take a speech?
A mix of Republican elected officials, well-known conservative media figures, and celebrities attended the event.
Among the most well-known voices were:
Conservative commentator and co-founder of Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro.
Tucker Carlson, network’s founder and journalist,
The Megyn Kelly Show host and journalist Megyn Kelly
JD Vance, the US Vice President,
CEO of TPUSA, Erika Kirk
Steve Bannon, podcaster and former Trump administration adviser
What issues caused the conservatives to differ?
debates involving platforming, conspiracy theories, and bigotry
Ben Shapiro, who delivered the first speech following CEO Kirk, slammed several conservative figures, most notably Carlson and Megyn Kelly. For amplifying so-called conspiratorial and extremist figures in the broader conservative movement, Shapiro, a vocal supporter of Israel, called others “grifters” and “charlatans.”
Carlson’s choice to host Nick Fuentes, a far-right figure, was “an act of moral imbecility,” according to Shapiro. Fuentes has been accused of anti-Semitism.
Carlson, on the other hand, directly addressed the audience, mocking Shapiro’s criticism and framing attempts to divide different voices.
He claimed that he “laughed” at the attempts to censor dissidents, which he described as “trying to censor” — which highlighted a contentious ideological conflict within the Republican-aligned media sphere.
During AmericaFest, Megyn Kelly holds a “prove me wrong” session [Caitlin O’Hara/Reuters]
Shapiro also attacked conservative media analyst Candace Owens, who has criticized Israel’s occupation of Gaza and called it a genocide. She has urged Washington to halt its military support for Israel.
Owens (who was not present at the event) “has been vomiting all kinds of hideous and conspiratorial nonsense into the public square for years,” according to the Daily Wire cofounder.
He claimed that Kelly, a former Fox News host, was “guilty of cowardice” because she refrained from criticizing Owens for making false accusations about a plot to involve the US and Israeli governments in Charlie Kirk’s death.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a former US president and the son of Indian immigrants, also criticized bigotry and hate on the right, claiming that anyone who normalizes hatred for any particular race or religion “does not have a place as a leader” in the conservative movement.
Journalist Carlson also criticized bigotry targeting Muslims in his speech. Because they are Muslims, what you are watching right now is attacking millions of Americans? It’s repulsive.
I’m a Christian, too. I don’t practice Islam. I’m never going to say that because I’m aware that making a secret jihadi claim is difficult. I’m not”, he added.
In his speech on Sunday, JD Vance, the US Vice President, refused to take sides in the debate around bigotry, saying the conservative movement should be open to everyone as long as they “love America”.
During the convention’s closing speech, Vance said, “I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or de-platform.”
We don’t care whether you’re white or black, rich or poor, young or old, urban or rural, content or uninteresting, or some combination thereof.
US support for Israel
Israel was brought up repeatedly at the conference.
Steve Bannon claimed that Shapiro, a Jew, and others who vehemently support Israel were “the “Israel First” crowd.”
Israel requires independence, and it requires its own self-determination. Go for it if Israel wants to conquer Syria, but don’t force the USA to fight in an endless conflict, he said.
Some on the right have questioned whether Trump’s “America First” philosophy conflicts with the Republican Party’s historically unwavering support for Israel.
Carlson also harshly criticized a certain Christian minister for denying that his government’s genocidal war against Gaza was justified.
Do we murder a man’s children if he commits a crime? Whether it’s in Gaza City or Minneapolis, I’m not interested. No, Carlson remarked to the audience, “We don’t.” He continued, “God is not on any country’s side… [God] doesn’t have a nationality.”
debate over who is an American
The idea of determining an American’s ancestry or heritage is also questioned by Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for governor of Ohio.
At the conference, he said, “The notion that a “heritage American” is more American than another American is fundamentally un-American.
If you believe in the US Constitution, the right to freedom of speech, the freedom of expression, colorblind meritocracy, the American dream, and if you are a citizen who swears allegiance to our country, Ramaswamy, a wealthy businessman, said in an opinion piece for The New York Times on December 17 that you are an American.
Ramaswamy’s position on the US appears to differ from Vice President Vance’s, who expressed his opposition to citizenship in a speech from July because he felt compelled to support the principles of the Declaration of Independence, such as the one in the United States.
America is more than just a concept, he says. It is a group of individuals with a historical and future in common. In summary, it is a nation, he had said.
Vance praised the Trump administration’s efforts to end diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, which were intended to give communities that have historically faced challenges equal opportunities, during his speech at the conference on Sunday.
A court in Ecuador has sentenced 11 soldiers to 34 years in prison for their role in abusing and disappearing four children from the city of Guayaquil as part of a country-wide crackdown on crime.
The sentencing on Monday capped a yearlong investigation into the missing children, who had been last seen on December 8, 2024, walking towards a sports field near their neighbourhood.
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The charred bodies of Steven Medina, Nehemias Arboleda, and brothers Ismael and Josue Arroyo were found weeks later, on December 31, in a rural swampy area.
The court also sentenced five soldiers who collaborated with the prosecution in the case to two and a half years behind bars.
The military had maintained that the boys, ages 11 to 15, were criminals who had been detained and were alive when they were released.
Several soldiers told prosecutors the boys had been beaten, subject to mock executions, and forced to strip before being abandoned naked in the remote and dangerous rural area of Taura.
The soldiers were acquitted of killing the boys.
“The patrol abandoned the minors in that area, knowing it was dangerous, desolate, and abandoned,” Judge Jovanny Suarez said in the ruling on Monday.
The defence maintained that prosecutors did not prevent conclusive evidence.
It also maintained that the soldiers were sent on patrol without prior training and that they had left the minors alive.
National outrage
The case triggered outrage nationwide and condemnation of President Daniel Noboa’s so-called “Phoenix Plan”.
Under the scheme, Noboa deployed the military within the country to respond to the country’s spiralling gang violence.
In September, Amnesty International said the approach has led to an increase in enforced disappearances while failing to bring down crime rates.
“Enforced disappearances are multiplying in Ecuador while the government insists on a militarised strategy that not only has not reduced crimes, but has increased human rights violations,” Ana Piquer, the group’s Americas director, said at the time.
The organisation’s report noted that 43 people have been reported missing by the armed forces since Noboa took office in 2023.
A bitcoin mine’s nonstop noise is destroying the lives of a rural Texas resident. Hood County residents refer to the 24/7 hum of cooling fans as “torture,” while project managers defend the project as a significant employment and tax boost. Phil Lavelle of Al Jazeera claims that AI data centers could spark even bigger conflicts.
