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Trump’s energy chief vows reversal of Biden climate policies

The US energy secretary vowed Monday to reset federal energy policy to favor fossil fuels and deprioritize climate change as industry leaders gathered at their biggest event since President Donald Trump returned to office.In the conference’s opening session, Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited the Trump administration’s moves to cut red tape that is delaying oil projects and promote liquefied natural gas exports as examples of a pivot away from policies pursued under former president Joe Biden.”The Trump administration will end the Biden administration’s irrational quasi-religious policies on climate change that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens,” Wright told a packed auditorium for the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) conference.Since returning to Washington seven weeks ago, Trump and his team have overhauled the existing economic order at a dizzying pace, launching trade wars against allies and hollowing government agencies the president and his allies dislike.Trump made energy policy a central part of his agenda with his day-one “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, promising during his inaugural address to “end the Green New Deal” in favor of “that liquid gold under our feet.”But Mark Brownstein, senior vice president at the Environmental Defense Fund, said Wright’s tone was “long on rhetoric,” adding, “at some point the administration needs to get off the campaign stump speech and get on with the business of governing.”Brownstein described many CERA attendees as uncertain about investments, not only because of Trump’s shifting position on energy and climate change, but also the nearly daily pivots on tariffs.”The energy industry is a capital-intensive business and what they need to deploy capital at scale is certainty and consistency,” Brownstein told AFP. CERA’s opening day coincided with deep stock market losses after Trump over the weekend refused to rule out a US recession.Protesters held boisterous demonstrations outside the event in Houston. Advocacy group Oil Change International blasted the oil industry for pollution near industrial facilities and for fossil fuel investments that are worsening climate change.- Change ahead? -Energy played a key supporting role in Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, in which he pointed to higher gasoline prices as a reason more production was needed, embodied by his slogan: “Drill, baby, drill.”Trump’s January 20 executive order represents a potentially wide-ranging attack on tax incentives which had been embraced by energy companies to advance billions of dollars of energy transition projects.These projects were connected to laws enacted under Biden to mitigate climate change.Some pundits think Trump will stop short of actions canceling existing projects where workers have been hired, including many in conservative districts.Appearing just after Wright, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth warned that “swinging from one extreme to the other” on policy is “not the right policy approach in a long cycle industry like this.”Wirth welcomed Trump’s executive orders on permitting reform, but said “we need to see some of this stuff put into legislation so that it’s more durable and it’s not at risk of being swung back in another direction by a future administration” with different priorities.- Conciliatory tone on tariffs -Wright downplayed the upheaval on trade policy after his remarks, noting Trump dropped many of his most impactful tariffs in his first term.It’s “too early to say on tariffs, but I feel quite confident having a smart businessman every day working for America writ large, not an interest group or a particular industry,” Wright said. “I’m pretty optimistic about the outcome.”Wright said there were “vigorous” closed-door debates about tariffs within the administration, rejecting the idea that there was ideological uniformity on the issue.He also suggested the Trump administration wouldn’t challenge all Biden administration renewable energy projects, saying that while he wouldn’t have picked some of the same projects for loans, “we inherit a loan book… and we follow the rule of law.”

US Congress scrambles to avert weekend government shutdown

US lawmakers raced Monday to avert a weekend government shutdown with a funding deal loudly backed by President Donald Trump as he pushes a polarizing plan to drastically downsize the federal bureaucracy.Republicans have released a stopgap bill to keep the government funded through September 30 that would give Trump time to advance his agenda of tax cuts, mass deportations and boosted energy production through Congress over the summer.Lawmakers hope to advance the bill through the House on Tuesday, with Senate approval envisioned before Friday night’s midnight shutdown deadline. A handful of fiscal conservatives reliably vote against stopgaps — known as continuing resolutions (CRs) — because they mostly freeze spending levels, squandering opportunities for budget cuts.At least one House Republican so far has opposed the 99-page CR, while several others have been noncommittal.A lapse in funding going into next week could result in thousands of public workers being sent home without pay and an array of government operations being hit — plunging the country into chaos early in Trump’s second term.House Speaker Mike Johnson is betting on the president pressuring any potential party rebels after the Republican leader endorsed the measure in a social media post urging Republicans to “remain UNITED — NO DISSENT.”Congress needs a CR because it is so evenly split that it has been unable to approve the 12 separate bills that allocate full 2025 budgets for various federal agencies.But with Johnson leading a tiny majority, he can likely afford to lose only one or two votes from his own side.  – ‘Slush fund’ -Almost all House Democrats are expected to vote against the bill, which would drop domestic spending by about $13 billion from 2024 levels, while increasing defense spending by about $6 billion.But the negotiations are something of a minefield for the left, which is under pressure to offer strong opposition to Trump’s agenda, but wary of being blamed for a shutdown. The latest funding fight comes with Trump pushing unprecedented federal firings as he begins unilaterally shrinking or shuttering agencies from USAID to the Department of Education.   The drive is being spearheaded by Trump aide Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who has enraged much of the country and Congress — including Republican lawmakers — with his seemingly haphazard approach. While Musk enjoys Trump’s confidence, polling shows he is deeply unpopular among ordinary Americans, and his cuts have sparked angry confrontations between Republicans and their constituents at town halls.Courts have been hearing a flood of challenges to Musk’s authority, and Republican senators have urged the SpaceX and Tesla boss to seek congressional approval for his program — the sole lawful means for the White House to block spending approved by lawmakers.Although there is no appetite on either side for a shutdown, the prospect of the stopgap making it to Trump’s desk before the deadline was hanging by a thread as party leaders prepared to muscle it through the House Rules Committee on Monday.Senate Republicans have to clear anything the House passes by a 60-vote threshold, and one conservative has indicated he will be a no, meaning Majority Leader John Thune needs the support of at least eight Democrats. “This is a shutdown bill that’s bad for the economy — let Trump shutdown whatever he wants, hurting everyday folks to use money for tax breaks for the uber-rich. Hell no!” Virginia Senator Tim Kaine posted on X.Patty Murray, the top Senate Democrat on government funding negotiations, called the stopgap a “slush fund continuing resolution that would give Donald Trump and Elon Musk more power over federal spending.”But Johnson voiced hope that the measure would still get enough support from the minority party.”It’s going to be up to… the Senate Democrats to do the right thing and I don’t think they’re going to shut the government down,” Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill.

LA prosecutor asks to withdraw Menendez brothers’ bid for resentencing

The chief prosecutor in Los Angeles said Monday he was asking for the withdrawal of a resentencing motion for Erik and Lyle Menendez because the brothers continue to lie about the 1989 murder of their wealthy parents.The pair were jailed for life after a blockbuster legal drama three decades ago detailing the shotgun slayings of Jose and Kitty Menendez at the family’s luxury Beverly Hills mansion, which the brothers staged to look like a mafia hit.But a growing campaign to free them — given new life by a hit Netflix series — has pursued a three-pronged strategy: clemency, a new trial or resentencing.Prosecutors in Los Angeles had previously been supportive, but newly installed District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who has already opposed a new trial, on Monday said there should be no resentencing either.”In looking at whether or not the Menendezes have exhibited the full insight and complete responsibility for their crimes, they have not,” Hochman told reporters during a press conference.”They have told 20 different lies, they’ve actually admitted to four of them, but 16 realized lies remain unacknowledged.”Hochman said he was asking the court, which is expected to sit on March 20 and 21, to withdraw a supportive motion submitted by his predecessor in “the interests of justice.”Erik, now 54, and Lyle, 57, have spent more than three decades behind bars.During two trials in the 1990s that gripped America, prosecutors painted their parents’ shotgun murders as a cold-hearted bid by the then-young men — Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 — to get their hands on their parents’ $14 million fortune.But their attorneys described the 1989 killings as an act of desperate self-defense by young men subjected to years of sexual abuse and psychological violence at the hands of a tyrannical father and a complicit mother.The case saw a huge surge of renewed interest last year with the release of the Netflix hit “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”Last month Hochman set out his opposition to the brothers’ attempt to get a new trial.In a forensic presentation on Monday, he used much of the same reasoning to lay out his position on resentencing, which he said hinged on the brothers’ continued unwillingness to come clean about their crimes.Hochman said the men had offered five disparate explanations for the deaths of their parents, ranging from an initial claim that it was a mafia hit to the self-defense that they ultimately relied on at trial.In reality, he said, the murders were meticulously planned and cold-blooded.He said the slayings were followed up with attempts to destroy a will they thought would cut them out of the parents’ fortune, and months of deceit, including attempts to get people to lie in court for them.But, he said, his office would be prepared to revisit the idea of resentencing in the future if the brothers “accept complete responsibility for all their criminal actions.”The third route to freedom for the brothers rests with California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has the power to grant clemency at any time.

Huge fire, more than 30 injured after North Sea ships crash

A cargo ship ran into a US-military charted tanker carrying jet fuel in the North Sea on Monday, sparking a massive fire off the English coast and injuring more than 30 people, the tanker’s operator and authorities said.A major rescue operation was being coordinated by the UK Coastguard as images showed a huge plume of thick, black smoke and flames rising from the scene about 10 miles (16 kilometres) off the coast.The Stena Immaculate was “anchored off the North Sea coast near Hull… (and) was struck by the container ship Solong”, the Stena’s US-based operators Crowley said in a statement.The tanker was on a short-term US military charter with Military Sealift Command, according to Jillian Morris, the spokesperson for the command that operates civilian-crewed ships providing ocean transport for the US Defense Department.Crowley said the impact of the collision “ruptured” the cargo tank “containing A1-jet fuel” and triggered a fire, with fuel “reported released”.A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the situation “extremely concerning”. Grimsby port director Martyn Boyers told AFP that 32 injured people had been brought ashore for treatment in three vessels, adding that “ambulances were queueing on the quay” in the northeastern English fishing port.Local MP Graham Stuart later wrote on X that 37 people had been injured.All crew members on board the tanker, owned by Swedish shipowner Stena Bulk, were confirmed to be alive, Lena Alvling, a spokesperson for the firm, told AFP.- ‘Not like crude spill’ -There were reports of “fires on both ships” that UK lifeboat services were responding to, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) confirmed to AFP.A spokesman said the coastguard was carrying out an assessment of the likely counter-pollution response required, while a government body probing marine accidents deployed a team to Grimsby.”Our team of inspectors and support staff are gathering evidence and undertaking a preliminary assessment of the accident to determine our next steps,” a Marine Accident Investigation Branch spokesperson said.Ivor Vince, founder of ASK Consultants, an environmental risk advisory group, told AFP that “the good news is it’s not persistent, it’s not like a crude oil spill”. “Most of it will evaporate quite quickly and what doesn’t evaporate will be degraded by microorganisms quite quickly”, he added, while warning that “it will kill fish and other creatures”.Martin Slater, director of operations at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said it could be potentially “devastating” to seal and bird populations if the nearby Humber estuary became polluted.- Humber traffic suspended -All vessel movements were “suspended” in the Humber estuary that flows into the North Sea, according to Associated British Ports (ABP).The ABP, which operates in the Ports of Hull and Immingham in the region, added that it was “assisting” the Coastguard.  The International Maritime Organization told AFP “the current focus is on the firefighting and search-and-rescue operation”.The alarm about the crash near the port city of Hull in East Yorkshire was raised at 0948 GMT.A coastguard helicopter, a plane, lifeboats from four towns and other nearby vessels were part of the large rescue operation, UK Coastguard said.The cargo ship was the Portuguese-flagged “Solong”, owned by the German company Reederei Koepping.The 140-metre-long (460 foot) cargo vessel left Grangemouth in Scotland and was bound for Rotterdam, according to the Vessel Finder website.- Collisions rare -Vessels with firefighting capabilities have been dispatched to the scene off the northeast coast.Collisions remain rare in the busy North Sea.In October 2023, two cargo ships, the Verity and the Polesie, collided near Germany’s Heligoland islands in the North Sea.Three people were killed and two others are still missing and considered dead.The Isle-of-Man-flagged Verity, which was carrying steel from the northern German port of Bremen to Immingham, sank.In October 2015, the Flinterstar freighter, carrying 125 tonnes of diesel and 427 tonnes of fuel oil, sank after colliding with the Al Oraiq tanker eight kilometres (five miles) off the Belgian coast.A major North Sea oil spill took place in January 1993 when the Liberian tanker Braer suffered engine damage while en route to Canada from Norway.Water seeped into the holds of the ship, which ran aground off Scotland’s Shetland Islands and released 84,500 tonnes of crude oil.

Zelensky, Rubio arrive in Saudi for Russia ceasefire talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and chief US diplomat Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of ceasefire talks on Monday as Ukraine’s proposal for a partial truce raised hopes of a breakthrough after three years of war.Zelensky, embroiled in a public row with US President Donald Trump last month, touched down in Jeddah as Rubio cautiously welcomed the idea of an aerial and naval ceasefire.Tuesday’s talks between Ukrainian officials and Rubio’s US team will be the first between the two sides since the White House blow-up, when Zelensky left without signing a minerals deal demanded by Trump.Washington has since suspended military aid to Ukraine as well as intelligence sharing and access to satellite imagery in a bid to force it to the negotiating table with Moscow, which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 on orders from President Vladimir Putin.”We do have a proposal for a ceasefire in the sky and ceasefire at sea,” a Ukrainian official told AFP on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.”Because these are the ceasefire options that are easy to install and to monitor, and it’s possible to start with them.”Rubio indicated the idea had promise. “I’m not saying that alone is enough, but it’s the kind of concession you would need to see in order to end the conflict,” he told reporters.”You’re not going to get a ceasefire and an end to this war unless both sides make concessions.”Rubio added that he hoped to “resolve” the suspension of military aid that is threatening to hamper Ukraine’s campaign.”I think the notion of the pause in aid, broadly, is something I hope we can resolve. Obviously, what happens tomorrow will be key to that,” he said.Zelensky was expected to meet the de facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later before his officials sit down with the US side on Tuesday.- ‘Framework’ for peace deal, ceasefire -Britain’s Financial Times newspaper, citing a source briefed on preparations for the talks, said Kyiv’s offer of a partial ceasefire was aimed at convincing Washington to resume military aid and intelligence-sharing.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Trump in a call on Monday that he hoped the talks would lead to the US resuming military aid to Ukraine, Downing Street said.Before his departure for Jeddah, Zelensky said Ukraine wanted peace, insisting Russia was the sole reason that the war was carrying on.”Ukraine has been seeking peace since the very first second of the war, and we have always said that the only reason that the war is continuing is because of Russia,” he wrote on social media.US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington wanted to use the talks “to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well”.In Jeddah, dozens of Ukrainian and Saudi flags flew on a main roundabout near the airport and on thoroughfares.As well as Rubio, Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, has also confirmed his participation.Zelensky said his negotiators will include Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak and Pavlo Palisa, a military commander and Yermak’s deputy. – Zelensky ‘offered to sign deal’ -Zelensky has called the White House incident “regrettable” and said he was ready to work with Trump’s “strong leadership”. He also expressed readiness to sign the minerals deal.Witkoff said Trump received a letter from Zelensky, calling it “a very positive first step” and “an apology”.Asked if Ukraine would sign the deal in Saudi Arabia, Witkoff said: “I think Zelensky has offered to sign it, and we’ll see if he follows through.”Trump has renewed communications with Putin and criticised Zelensky, raising fears in Kyiv and among European allies that the US leader may try to force Ukraine to accept a settlement favouring Russia.On Friday, however, Trump said he was considering further sanctions on Russia for “pounding” Ukraine on the battlefield.Ukraine’s European allies last week held a summit with Zelensky and announced they would greatly increase defence spending. Starmer will host virtual talks on Saturday to build on the meeting.Meanwhile, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP that Russia could enjoy an advantage against Ukrainian troops if the US continues to refuse to share intelligence. “If it lasts a long time, it will give the Russians a significant advantage,” the source said.bur-am-csp-sct/th/dcp

Trump’s Energy Secretary vows reversal of Biden climate policies

The US Energy Secretary vowed Monday to reset federal energy policy to favor fossil fuels and deprioritize climate change as industry leaders gathered at their biggest event since President Donald Trump returned to office.In the conference’s opening session, Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited the Trump administration’s moves to cut red tape delaying oil projects and promote liquefied natural gas exports (LNG) as examples of a pivot away from policies pursued under former president Joe Biden.”The Trump administration will end the Biden administration’s irrational quasi-religious policies on climate change that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens,” Wright told a packed auditorium for the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) conference.Since returning to Washington less than two months ago, Trump and his team have overhauled the existing economic order at a dizzying pace, launching trade wars against allies and hollowing government agencies the president and his allies dislike.Trump made energy policy a central part of his agenda with his day-one “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, promising during his inaugural address to “end the Green New Deal” in favor of “that liquid gold under our feet.”Environmentalists have criticized these shifts as leaving the world vulnerable to catastrophic climate change.Wright’s “speech made clear that he and the rest of the Trump administration are ready to sacrifice our communities and climate for the profits of the fossil fuel industry,” said Allie Rosenbluth, US campaign manager for Oil Change International, which planned a rally in downtown Houston outside the CERA event.- How much change ahead? -Energy played a key supporting role in Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, in which he pointed to higher gasoline prices as a reason more production was needed, embodied by his slogan: “Drill, Baby, Drill.”Trump’s January 20 executive order represents a potentially wide-ranging attack on tax incentives which had been embraced by energy companies to advance billions of dollars of energy transition projects.These projects were connected to laws enacted during Biden’s presidency to mitigate climate change.Some pundits think Trump will stop short of actions canceling existing projects where workers have been hired, including many in conservative districts.But the abrupt shift from the climate-focused Biden to Trump likely “turns 2025 into a paralyzed year where folks are hesitant to push on any kind of decarbonization,” said Dan Pickering of Pickering Energy Partners, a Houston advisory and investment firm.Wright described his approach as an “all the above” stance that can include renewable energy, although he told a press conference after the address that offshore wind projects were a waste of money that are “very unpopular” with communities.At an event last week in Louisiana, Wright touted an announcement by Venture Global of an $18 billion expansion of a liquefied natural gas export facility, highlighting Trump’s reversal of a Biden freeze on permitting new LNG export capacity.Trump has ridiculed the environmental concerns at the center of Biden’s policy, championing LNG exports as a way to strengthen America’s ties with energy importing countries.But there has been widespread skepticism about Trump’s message urging the industry to significantly boost oil and gas drilling in order to lift output and lower energy prices.Wall Street has also signaled a clear preference for robust industry profits that can continue to allow for dividends and stock buybacks.- Questions for Europe -At CERA, European officials will meet on panels to discuss Europe at a crossroads after shifting away from Russian energy supplies.In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US LNG “played a super important role” for Europe as the continent sought to lessen its dependence on Russian gas, said Jonathan Elkind, a fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.However, Trump’s realignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin has forced European leaders to reckon with the system’s long-term viability.For the near future, including at CERA, Elkind expects European officials to continue to speak optimistically of the prospects for more US LNG.But “at the back of their mind… it’s pretty hard to tell whether Donald Trump is friend or foe and that’s a shocking thing to say after 70 years of a close alliance,” Elkind said.

‘Elbows up!’ – the hockey tactic inspiring Canada’s anti-Trump fight

A legendary Canadian ice hockey player renowned for his aggressive play has inspired the country’s emerging rallying cry of “Elbows up!” in its battle against US President Donald Trump.Throwing an elbow — in your opponent’s face or ribs — is hardly rare in hockey, but the move is closely associated Gordie Howe, one of the sport’s greatest ever players. Howe, known to many as “Mr Hockey,” was notorious for using his elbows to ward off opponents when battling for the puck.”We’re a country that will be diplomatic when we can — but fight when we must: ‘Elbows up!'” outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said to a cheering crowd of Liberal Party supporters in his farewell address in Ottawa on Sunday. Rising to their feet, the crowd chanted “elbows up” in response.The catchphrase had been gaining traction online and was propelled to a new level this weekend when Toronto-born comedian Mike Myers mouthed it during the closing credits of US show Saturday Night Live. Trudeau warned in his speech that Canada faced “an existential challenge” from Trump, who has repeatedly spoken about annexing the country and initiated trade tariffs that could devastate the Canadian economy.A statue honoring Howe in his hometown of Floral, in the province of Saskatchewan, shows him on skates, holding a stick, with his left elbow pointed straight up.”If a guy slashed me, I’d grab his stick, pull him up alongside me and elbow him in the head,” Howe, who died in 2016, once said.Any country facing annexation from the world’s largest military power might want to be armed with more than pointed elbows, but in Canada hockey references can be unifying.The premier of British Columbia David Eby, whose government has banned the sale of alcohol from US “red states” that support Trump, offered an explanation for the phrase. “‘Elbows up’ means the other team is trying to take advantage, and if they come at you, they’re going to feel it,” he said.Sunday’s Liberal Party meeting in Ottawa named former central banker Mark Carney as Trudeau’s successor. A transition is expected in the coming days. Earlier Sunday, a crowd of about 1,000 anti-Trump protesters met on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and chanted “Elbows Up, Canada!” 

Huge fire, 32 injured after North Sea ships crash

A cargo ship struck a tanker carrying jet fuel on Monday in the North Sea, sparking a massive fire off England and leaving 32 people injured, the tanker’s operator and authorities said.A major rescue operation was being coordinated by the UK Coastguard as images showed a huge plume of thick, black smoke and flames rising from the scene about 10 miles (16 kilometres) off the coast.The Stena Immaculate was “anchored off the North Sea coast near Hull … (and) was struck by the container ship Solong,” the Stena’s US-based operators Crowley said in a statement.The impact of the collision “ruptured” the cargo tank “containing A1-jet fuel” triggering a fire, with fuel “reported released”.The 32 injured had been brought ashore for treatment in three vessels, the Grimsby port director Martyn Boyers told AFP, adding “ambulances were queueing on the quay” in the northeastern English fishing port.All of the crew on board the tanker owned by Swedish shipowner Stena Bulk were confirmed to be alive, Lena Alvling, a spokesperson for the firm told AFP.There were reports of “fires on both ships” that UK lifeboat services were responding to, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) confirmed to AFP.A spokesman said the Coastguard was carrying out an assessment of the likely counter pollution response required, while a government body probing marine accidents deployed a team to Grimsby.”Our team of inspectors and support staff are gathering evidence and undertaking a preliminary assessment of the accident to determine our next steps,” a Marine Accident Investigation Branch spokesperson said.According to environmental campaign group Greenpeace, it was “too early to assess the extent of any environmental damage”.”In the case of an oil spill or any loss of hazardous cargo from the container ship involved, the speed of the response will also be crucial in limiting any impact,” a Greenpeace spokesperson said.- Humber traffic suspended -All vessel movements were “suspended” in the Humber estuary which flows into the North Sea, according to the Associated British Ports (ABP).The ABP, which operates in the Ports of Hull and Immingham in the region, added it was “assisting” the Coastguard.  The International Maritime Organization told AFP “the current focus is on the firefighting and search and rescue operation”.UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “concerned to hear” about the collision and thanked all the emergency services which rushed to the scene.The alarm about the crash near the port city of Hull in East Yorkshire was raised at 0948 GMT.A Coastguard helicopter, a plane, lifeboats from four towns and other nearby vessels were part of the large rescue operation, the Coastguard said.The cargo ship was the Portuguese-flagged “Solong”, owned by the German company Reederei Koepping.The 140-metre-long (460 foot) cargo vessel, left Grangemouth in Scotland and was bound for Rotterdam, according to website Vessel Finder.- Collisions rare -Vessels with firefighting capabilities have been dispatched to the scene off the northeast coast.Collisions remain rare in the busy North Sea.In October 2023, two cargo ships, the Verity and the Polesie, collided near Germany’s Heligoland islands in the North Sea.Three people were killed and two others are still missing, considered dead.The Isle-of-Man-flagged Verity, which was carrying steel from the northern German  port of Bremen to Immingham, sank.In October 2015, the Flinterstar freighter — carrying 125 tonnes of diesel and 427 tonnes of fuel oil — sank after colliding with the Al Oraiq tanker eight kilometres (five miles) off the Belgian coast on October 6, 2015.A major North Sea oil spill took place in January 1993 when the Liberian tanker Braer suffered engine damage while en route from Norway to Canada. Water seeped into the holds of the ship, which ran aground off Scotland’s Shetland Islands and released 84,500 tonnes of crude oil.

US Supreme Court to hear challenge to ‘conversion therapy’ ban for minors

The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge by a Christian therapist to a Colorado law that bans “conversion therapy” for minors who are questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation.The case was brought by Kaley Chiles, a licensed mental health counselor who argues that the prohibition from holding such conversations with minors is a violation of her First Amendment free speech rights.Colorado’s Minor Conversion Therapy Law, passed in 2019, prohibits licensed mental health professionals from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of their minor patients.Chiles is represented in the case before the conservative-dominated Supreme Court by Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy group.In her petition, Chiles’s lawyers said she “believes that people flourish when they live consistently with God’s design, including their biological sex.””Amidst a nationwide mental-health crisis, many minors struggling with gender dysphoria are seeking the counseling that Kaley Chiles would like to provide,” they said.”They want help aligning their mind and body rather than chasing experimental medical interventions and risking permanent harm.”Yet it is this desperately needed counseling — encouraging words between a licensed counselor and a consenting minor client — that Colorado forbids,” they said.Conversion therapy is banned in more than 20 US states and much of Europe, with both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association opposed to its use.In its brief with the Supreme Court, Colorado said there is “mounting evidence that conversion therapy is associated with increased depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts.”Two lower courts ruled in favor of Colorado, and Chiles brought her case before the nation’s top court, where conservatives hold a 6-3 majority.In December, the Supreme Court heard arguments over a Tennessee law banning puberty blockers or hormone therapy for minors and is expected to issue a ruling by the end of June.US President Donald Trump, shortly after taking office, signed an executive order restricting gender transition medical procedures for people under the age of 19.

83% of USAID programs to be scrapped: Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the United States was cancelling 83 percent of programs at USAID, as the Trump administration guts spending not aligned with its “America First” agenda.The US Agency for International Development (USAID) distributes humanitarian aid around the world, with health and emergency programs in around 120 countries, and critics warn that slashing its work will affect millions of people.”After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID,” Rubio said on social media platform X. “The 5,200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States.”President Donald Trump, who has called for the humanitarian agency to be shut down, signed an executive order in January demanding a freeze on all US foreign aid to allow time to assess overseas expenses.Rubio said the remaining 1,000 programs would be administered by the State Department, delivering a seemingly fatal blow to USAID — where most workers have been placed on leave or fired since January.Rubio on Monday notably thanked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which billionaire Elon Musk is leading in a drive to cut federal spending and jobs.Musk, whom Rubio has reportedly criticized over his aggressive belt-tightening, responded on X describing the USAID cuts as “tough, but necessary.”The State Department had announced last month its intention to cut 92 percent of USAID contracts, identifying 5,800 grants to be eliminated.Trump and his allies have argued that foreign assistance is wasteful and does not serve US interests, but aid groups argue much of the assistance supports US interests by promoting stability and health overseas.