Sunday, March 9

Types of News: Brief

News briefs are shorter stories about current events. It’s the who-what-when-and-where. “Just the facts, ma’am.” Please see our writers guidelines.

Coal Can’t Compete With Gas & Renewable in Europe, Study Says
24Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Types of News: Brief

Coal Can’t Compete With Gas & Renewable in Europe, Study Says

October 24, 2019-In a sign that renewable energy and natural gas are increasingly gaining market power, a study released today by the Carbon Tracker Initiative finds that 79 percent of coal generators in the European Union are running at a loss. "Owing to relentless competition from ever lower-cost wind and solar, and gas, these losses could be sustained for the foreseeable future," according to the Carbon Tracker Initiative, a London-based think tank focused on climate change. The new study suggests the coal industry cannt survive, unless it is supported by heavy government subsidies, due to sustained competition from wind and solar power and temporarily cheap natural gas. "EU coal generators are haemorrhaging cash because they cannot compete with ever-cheaper renewables and...
Read More
Turkey-Russia Agree on Plan in Syria
22Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Turkey-Russia Agree on Plan in Syria

October 22, 2019-As U.S. troops pulled out of northeastern Syria, Russia President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made an agreement to share control of north east Syria. Under the plan, Turkey would control the area it currently has under its control while Russian and Syrian troops control the rest of the border, Haartz news reported. Under the Russian-Turkish agreement, Syrian Kurd fighters would need to move 30 kilometers (18 miles) away from the border area within 150 hour period that starts on Wednesday. Erdogan said 800 Syrian Kurdish fighters withdrew since Turkey and the United States agreed to a five-day pause in the operation and that 1,300 more are still expected to withdraw. "Syria should be free from the illegal military foreign presence," Pu...
Read More
Seized North Korean Cargo Ship Sold for Scrap Metal
22Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

Seized North Korean Cargo Ship Sold for Scrap Metal

October 22, 2019-A U.S. court made an order of forfeiture for a cargo vessel named "Wise Honest" that had shipped coal and machinery for North Korea in violation of U.S. and international sanctions. The U.S. Justice Department announced the decision yesterday, saying that it effectively ends the ship's "career as one of North Korea’s largest sanctions-busting vessels.” A Ship's Story In April, foreign maritime authorities intercepted and seized the ship. In May, DOJ Attorneys John Demers and Geoffrey Berman filed a civil forfeiture complaint in a U.S. court against the 17,061-ton, single-hull bulk carrier ship. According to a DOJ statement, it was the first-ever seizure of a ship evading sanctions. The Korea Songi Shipping Company had used the ship to export North Korean coal ...
Read More
Ukraine to Sell 800 State-Owned Enterprises
21Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Domestic Politics, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

Ukraine to Sell 800 State-Owned Enterprises

October 21, 2019- Privatization is seen as a key to addressing widespread corruption in Ukraine, where the state is the largest asset owner. The government is preparing a list of 800 state-owned assets for sale, a top Ukrainian official told a gathering of business and government leaders in Washington, DC last week. "There are 61 central authorities running state-owned companies with no accountability whatsoever, and these guys are messing up the competition in every market you can think of," Tymofiy Mylovanov, Ukraine's Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture, told members of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council in Washington, DC last week. "We have to get them under control." Mylovanov announced plans to list up to 800 of the 10,000 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for ...
Read More
Pause in Turkey’s Offensive Gives Syrian Kurds Chance to ‘Get Out’
20Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Middle East, Migration, Immigration, Borders, Types of News: Brief

Pause in Turkey’s Offensive Gives Syrian Kurds Chance to ‘Get Out’

October 20, 2019-The United States and Turkey reached an agreement on Syrian operations late last week after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an demanded that "all the terrorists" lay down their arms and "get out of the safe zone that we have designated." As a result of the agreement, Kurdish fighters, known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG), and their families are to evacuate from a designated zone along the Syrian-Turkish border. If they do not evacuate, Turkey has promised to relaunch its military offensive. While U.S. President Donald Trump called it a "ceasefire," others referred to the pause in fighting as a period of mass evacuation. It is not immediately clear if YPG fighters are leaving the area, but tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing to Iraq for safety. ...
Read More
British Parliament Delays Vote on Brexit Withdrawal
19Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Types of News: Brief

British Parliament Delays Vote on Brexit Withdrawal

October 19, 2019-During a rare Saturday session, the British parliament voted 322-306 to delay a vote on a deal that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated with the European Commission. The postponement dealt a blow to Johnson's plan to allow Britain to exit the European Union in its October 31 Brexit while averting economic shocks to consumers, businesses and citizens. Members of the Labour Party overwhelmingly voted for the amendment to postpone while Conservative Party members voted against it. Down to the Wire The delay is seen as a defeat for Johnson who has promised to steer Britain out of the EU on October 31 with or without a deal. A no-deal exit could mean economic disruptions, including food, fuel and medicine shortages, price hikes, problems at ports and...
Read More
U.S. Preps Sanctions Against Turkey in Wake of Military Incursion in Syria
14Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Geopolitics, Middle East, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Preps Sanctions Against Turkey in Wake of Military Incursion in Syria

October 14, 2019-As Turkey continued its military operation into northern Syria on Monday, U.S. lawmakers prepared to impose economic sanctions against current and former Turkish government officials contributing to the "destabilizing actions." While U.S. troops moved out of Syria, U.S. leaders prepared an economic response. In a published statement released on Twitter, U.S. President Donald Trump said he is preparing an executive order to impose the sanctions against "those who may be involved in serious human rights abuses, obstructing a ceasefire, preventing displaced persons from returning home, forcibly repatriating refugees, or threatening the peace, security, or stability in Syria." Aside from sanctions against individuals, further actions could include raising tariffs on s...
Read More
Tenuous US-China Trade Talks
14Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

Tenuous US-China Trade Talks

October 14, 2019--High-level trade talks between U.S. and Chinese leaders last week produced some results but left the possibility for higher tariffs open in December if details are not settled. "We have a great deal. We're papering it now," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday. "China is going to keep their word. They want to make the deal." China's chief negotiator signaled modest support. "We have made substantial progress in many fields," Vice Premier Liu He said through an interpreter on Friday. "We are happy about it." The partial deal, which is not yet settled, comes at a time when trade between the two countries has fallen. According to a report today in the Financial Times, China's imports from the United States fell 26.4 percent in September while its exports t...
Read More
Turkey Drives Military Forces Into Syria
13Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Types of News: Brief

Turkey Drives Military Forces Into Syria

October 13, 2019-Turkey drove its military forces into northern Syria this week, driving out Kurdish forces and civilians and inciting international criticism. Turkish President Recep Erdogan annouced the drive earlier in the week, saying he intends to create a buffer zone where he can resettle up to 3.6 million Syrian refugees now living in Turkey. Since January, U.S. and Turkish leaders have discussed creating a "safe zone" in the region. For Kurds living and fighting in the area, the zone is anything but safe. Turkish forces and their allies captured several villages over the weekend along the Syria's Northern border, according to reports in Al Jazeera. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned that civilian lives are in danger amid the new fighting. "Hund...
Read More
EU-UK Talks Intensify Ahead of Oct. 31 Brexit
11Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

EU-UK Talks Intensify Ahead of Oct. 31 Brexit

October 11, 2019--With less than three weeks to go before the United Kingdom exits the European Union without a plan to trade with the rest of Europe, new hope for a deal emerged on Friday as the chief negotiator for the European Commission indicated that talks are intensifying "in a constructive spirit." "We are intensifying technical discussions with the United Kingdom over the coming days, in a constructive spirit," Michel Barnier, the European Commission's Chief Negotiator, said today on Twitter. Earlier in the week, Barnier suggested that an agreement would be "difficult, but still possible." EU Position: No Hard Border in Ireland The European Union would only support a withdrawal agreement if it "avoids a hard border on the island of Ireland, protects the all-island eco...
Read More

Contact Us