‘Flying object’ struck tanker in Gulf of Oman, operator says, not a mine

‘Flying object’ struck tanker in Gulf of Oman, operator says, not a mine

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The New York Times reports: One of the tankers that were attacked in the Gulf of Oman was struck by a flying object, the ship’s Japanese operator said on Friday, expressing doubt that a mine had been attached to its hull. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that American intelligence agencies had concluded that Tehran was behind the disabling of two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a vital conduit for much of the world’s oil. Iranian officials…

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What does the Trump administration want from Iran?

What does the Trump administration want from Iran?

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By Noah Weisbord, Queen’s University, Ontario Two oil tankers were attacked on June 13 off the coast of Oman, forcing the crew members of one burning ship to flee. It was the latest in a series of assaults on tankers transporting oil through the Gulf. In May, Saudi, Norwegian and Emirati oil tankers were attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, causing damage but no casualties. The attacks have gone unclaimed, so the perpetrator is unknown – at…

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Oil tanker attacks will inflame conflict between the U.S., its allies and Iran

Oil tanker attacks will inflame conflict between the U.S., its allies and Iran

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Martin Chulov writes: The explosions were bigger and the damage more extensive. But the message and its means of delivery have some similarities. Thursday’s attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman caused jitters in global markets and unease across a region that has been bracing for conflict throughout much of the year. As with the earlier attacks on 12 May, news of the latest strikes was again broken by media outlets aligned to Hezbollah in Lebanon and…

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Climate change poses major risks to financial markets, regulator warns

Climate change poses major risks to financial markets, regulator warns

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The New York Times reports: A top financial regulator is opening a public effort to highlight the risk that climate change poses to the nation’s financial markets, setting up a clash with a president who has mocked global warming and whose administration has sought to suppress climate science. Rostin Behnam, who sits on the federal government’s five-member Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a powerful agency overseeing major financial markets including grain futures, oil trading and complex derivatives, said in an interview…

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Fire Kellyanne Conway: Trump told by government agency that White House counselor’s actions erode ‘the rule of law’

Fire Kellyanne Conway: Trump told by government agency that White House counselor’s actions erode ‘the rule of law’

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The New York Times reports: An independent government agency recommended on Thursday that President Trump fire Kellyanne Conway, his White House counselor, for repeated violations of an ethics law barring partisan politics from the federal workplace. In a letter accompanying a report to Mr. Trump, the agency called Ms. Conway a “repeat offender” of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in campaign politics at work, saying that her flagrant defiance of the law justified her dismissal from…

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Trump welcomes foreign interference in 2020 campaign

Trump welcomes foreign interference in 2020 campaign

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Jennifer Daskal writes: Shockingly – if anything shocks anymore – President Donald Trump told ABC news Wednesday that he need not tell the FBI if the Russians once again reached out with an offer of “dirt” on his opponents in the race for president. When Trump was told that Christopher Wary, the FBI director the president himself appointed, said last month that this kind of attempted foreign election interference was something that should be reported to federal law enforcement, Trump’s…

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Republican and Democratic former EPA heads sound alarm on Trump administration

Republican and Democratic former EPA heads sound alarm on Trump administration

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Think Progress reports: Former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials — including three Republicans and one Democrat — sounded the alarm on Tuesday about the direction of the agency under President Donald Trump. They warned that decades of environmental progress are on the line. Former EPA administrators under the Obama and Reagan administrations, as well as both Bush administrations, shared their concerns during a House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing. “I am here today because I am deeply concerned that…

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Carbon emissions from energy industry rise at fastest rate since 2011

Carbon emissions from energy industry rise at fastest rate since 2011

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The Guardian reports: Carbon emissions from the global energy industry last year rose at the fastest rate in almost a decade after extreme weather and surprise swings in global temperatures stoked extra demand for fossil fuels. BP’s annual global energy report, an influential review of the market, revealed for the first time that temperature fluctuations are increasing the world’s use of fossil fuels, in spite of efforts to tackle the climate crisis. The recorded temperature swings – days which are…

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Oil tankers attacked in Gulf of Oman, U.S. Navy says

Oil tankers attacked in Gulf of Oman, U.S. Navy says

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The Washington Post reports: Two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman came under suspected attack early Thursday amid soaring tensions between the United States and Iran. A Japanese-owned ship was targeted just as Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, wrapped up a high-stakes visit to Tehran to help cool hostilities in the region and potentially mediate U.S.-Iran talks. The attack appeared timed to undermine those efforts, which Abe had called “a major step forward toward securing peace and stability in…

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Leaked documents reveal Russian effort to turn Africa into strategic hub

Leaked documents reveal Russian effort to turn Africa into strategic hub

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The Guardian reports: Russia is seeking to bolster its presence in at least 13 countries across Africa by building relations with existing rulers, striking military deals, and grooming a new generation of “leaders” and undercover “agents”, leaked documents reveal. The mission to increase Russian influence on the continent is being led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman based in St Petersburg who is a close ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. One aim is to “strong-arm” the US and the…

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The European left’s dangerous anti-immigrant turn

The European left’s dangerous anti-immigrant turn

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Karina Piser writes: Denmark’s center-left Social Democrats came in first in the country’s June 5 parliamentary elections—the third Nordic country where voters recently backed a left-leaning party in a Europe otherwise marked by social democracy’s decline. Wednesday’s outcome broke with the past two decades of Danish politics. Social Democrats leader Mette Frederiksen, 41, is set to become the country’s youngest-ever prime minister and the second woman to hold the job. Her coalition’s success—91 of the parliament’s 179 seats—upended a political…

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Bacterial complexity revises ideas about ‘which came first?’

Bacterial complexity revises ideas about ‘which came first?’

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Jordana Cepelewicz writes: Open a basic biology textbook published decades ago or one published a few months ago, and both will define the two major categories of cells in the same way: Eukaryotes have membrane-bound compartments called organelles, including a nucleus where they store their genetic information, while prokaryotes do not. The distinction is even embedded in their names: In Greek, the word “eukaryote” means “true kernel” (a reference to the nucleus), while “prokaryote” means “before kernel.” As the evolutionary…

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Planet is entering ‘new climate regime’ with ‘extraordinary’ heat waves intensified by global warming, study says

Planet is entering ‘new climate regime’ with ‘extraordinary’ heat waves intensified by global warming, study says

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The Washington Post reports: Simultaneous heat waves scorched land areas all over the Northern Hemisphere last summer, killing hundreds and hospitalizing thousands while intensifying destructive and deadly wildfires. A study published this week in the journal Earth’s Future concludes that this heat wave epidemic “would not have occurred without human-induced climate change.” The alarming part? There are signs record-setting heat waves are beginning anew this summer — signaling, perhaps, that these exceptional and widespread heat spells are now the norm….

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False promises: Confidential cabinet note shows UK govt is not prepared for October 31 Brexit

False promises: Confidential cabinet note shows UK govt is not prepared for October 31 Brexit

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Financial Times reports: Boris Johnson’s promise to take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal on the scheduled Brexit date of October 31 has been undermined by a confidential cabinet note warning that the country is still far from prepared for the disruption of a disorderly exit. The note, seen by the Financial Times, says the government needs six to eight months of engagement with the pharmaceutical industry “to ensure adequate arrangements are in place to build…

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