Greenpeace files an anti-intimidation case against an American fossil fuel pipeline company
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Greenpeace filed on Monday an anti-intimidation court case against a U.S. energy company suing the environmental organization for hundreds of millions, testing for the first time a new European Union directive to counter manifestly unfounded cases aimed at harassing civil society.
The European Commission brought in extraterritorial safeguards to curb SLAPPS, or strategic lawsuits against public participation, last year.
Fossil fuel pipeline company Energy Transfer is suing Greenpeace for $300 million in North Dakota for organizing 2016 protests near the Standing Rock Reservation. Environmental groups and American Indian tribes staged large-scale protests over concerns about a possible oil spill polluting the tribe's water supply.
Now, Amsterdam-based Greenpeace wants a Dutch court to force Energy Transfer to pay compensation for ongoing proceedings over the Dakota Access Pipeline.
'Greenpeace is fighting off a devastating lawsuit that is aimed at preventing us and other civil society organizations from doing their work,' the group's legal counsel Daniel Simons told The Associated Press.
The new rules, which came into effect last year, would allow courts in the 27 member states to block enforcement of SLAPP lawsuits outside of the bloc and order companies to pay compensation for legal fees.
Greenpeace has asked the Amsterdam District Court to declare the U.S. proceedings as a SLAPP and for Energy Transfer to make a public statement to that effect, as well as pay damages.
Energy Transfer will now be given until July to respond to the suit.
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Associated Press
14 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Who's in charge? CDC's leadership 'crisis' apparent amid new COVID-19 vaccine guidance
WASHINGTON (AP) — There was a notable absence last week when U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a 58-second video that the government would no longer endorse the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children or pregnant women. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the person who typically signs off on federal vaccine recommendations — was nowhere to be seen. The CDC, a $9.2 billion-a-year agency tasked with reviewing life-saving vaccines, monitoring diseases and watching for budding threats to Americans' health, is without a clear leader. 'I've been disappointed that we haven't had an aggressive director since — February, March, April, May — fighting for the resources that CDC needs,' said Dr. Robert Redfield, who served as CDC director under the first Trump administration and supported Kennedy's nomination as the nation's health secretary. $9.2 billion-a-year agency without leader as nomination awaits The leadership vacuum at a foremost federal public health agency has existed for months, after President Donald Trump suddenly withdrew his first pick for CDC director in March. A hearing for his new nominee — the agency's former acting director Susan Monarez — has not been scheduled because she has not submitted all the paperwork necessary to proceed, according to a spokesman for Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who will oversee the nomination. HHS did not answer written questions about Monarez's nomination, her current role at the CDC or her salary. An employee directory lists Monarez, a longtime government employee, as a staffer for the NIH under the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Redfield described Kennedy as 'very supportive' of Monarez's nomination. Instead, a lawyer and political appointee with no medical experience is 'carrying out some of the duties' of director at the agency that for seven decades has been led by someone with a medical degree. Matthew Buzzelli, who is also the chief of staff at the CDC, is 'surrounded by highly qualified medical professionals and advisors to help fulfill these duties as appropriate,' Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesperson said in a statement. Adding to the confusion was an employee-wide email sent last week that thanked 'new acting directors who shave stepped up to the plate.' The email, signed by Monarez, listed her as the acting director. It was was sent just days after Kennedy said at a Senate hearing that Monarez had been replaced by Buzzelli. The lack of a confirmed director will be a problem if a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic or a rapid uptick in measles cases hits, said Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota. 'CDC is a crisis, waiting for a crisis to happen,' said Osterholm. 'At this point, I couldn't tell you for the life of me who was going to pull what trigger in a crisis situation.' An acting director rarely seen, and stalled decisions At CDC headquarters in Atlanta, employees say Monarez was rarely heard from between late January – when she was appointed acting director – and late March, when Trump nominated her. She also has not held any of the 'all hands' meetings that were customary under previous CDC chiefs, according to several staffers. One employee, who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media and fears being fired if identified said Monarez has been almost invisible since her nomination, adding that her absence has been cited by other leaders as an excuse for delaying action. The situation already has led to confusion. In April, a 15-member CDC advisory panel of outside experts met to discuss vaccine policy. The panel makes recommendations to the CDC Director, who routinely signs off on them. But it was unclear during the meeting who would be reviewing the panel's recommendations, which included the expansion of RSV vaccinations for adults and a new combination shot as another option to protect teens against meningitis. HHS officials said the recommendations were going to Buzzelli, but then weeks passed with no decision. A month after the meeting ended, the CDC posted on a web site that Kennedy had signed off on recommendations for travelers against chikungunya, a viral disease transmitted to humans by mosquitos. But there continues to be no word about a decision about the other vaccine recommendations. Controversial COVID-19 vaccine recommendations bypassed CDC panel The problem was accentuated again last week, when Kennedy rolled out recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine saying they were no longer recommended for healthy children or pregnant women, even though expectant mothers are considered a high-risk group if they contract the virus. Kennedy made the surprise announcement without input from the CDC advisory panel that has historically made recommendations on the nation's vaccine schedule. The CDC days later posted revised guidance that said healthy kids and pregnant women may get the shots. Nixon, the HHS spokesman, said CDC staff were consulted on the recommendations, but would not provide staffer's names or titles. He also did not provide the specific data or research that Kennedy reviewed to reach his conclusion on the new COVID-19 recommendations, just weeks after he said that he did not think 'people should be taking medical advice' from him. 'As Secretary Kennedy said, there is a clear lack of data to support the repeat booster strategy in children,' Nixon said in a statement. Research shows that pregnant women are at higher risk of severe illness, mechanical ventilation and death, when they contract COVID-19 infections. During the height of the pandemic, deaths of women during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth soared to their highest level in 50 years. Vaccinations also have been recommended for pregnant women because it passes immunity to newborns who are too young for vaccines and also vulnerable to infections. Nixon did not address a written question about recommendations for pregnant women. Kennedy's decision to bypass the the advisory panel and announce new COVID-19 recommendations on his own prompted a key CDC official who works with the committee – Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos – to announce her resignation last Friday. 'My career in public health and vaccinology started with a deep-seated desire to help the most vulnerable members of our population, and that is not something I am able to continue doing in this role,' she wrote in an email seen by an Associated Press reporter. Signs are mounting that the CDC has been 'sidelined' from key decision-making under Kennedy's watch, said Dr. Anand Parekh, the chief medical adviser for The Bipartisan Policy Center. 'It's difficult to ascertain how we will reverse the chronic disease epidemic or be prepared for myriad public health emergencies without a strong CDC and visible, empowered director,' Parekh said. 'It's also worth noting that every community in the country is served by a local or state public health department that depends on the scientific expertise of the CDC and the leadership of the CDC director.'
Epoch Times
16 minutes ago
- Epoch Times
Remembering Tiananmen Massacre, Activists Look to the Day of CCP's Fall
WASHINGTON—Activists held a memorial vigil Wednesday evening to pay tribute to pro-democracy protesters who died at China's The day, which saw Chinese authorities use tanks and guns to kill The occasion serves as a chance to commemorate those killed in the 'horrific' event, said Eric Patterson, president and chief executive officer of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, who hosted the vigil. But more than that, he saw a reason for hope. 'We recall that in Romania, and Hungary, and Poland, and many other countries, the lies and lawlessness of communism did fall by the wayside,' he said. What happened to these communist regimes makes him hopeful that 'there will be a new day in China at some point in the future.' Rushan Abbas, executive director of the Washington-based advocacy group Campaign for Uyghurs, said that the 1989 incident showed what the Chinese 'regime was capable of doing.' 'Today, depression flows through black cells in Tibet, the streets of Hong Kong, and the concentration camps in Xinjiang,' Abbas said at the vigil. Related Stories 6/4/2025 6/3/2025 'China's long black arm even reaches us here in the land of the free and the home of the brave through threats and transnational repression that crosses borders. 'The CCP's methods change, the targets shift, but the goal stays the same: obedience without truth, silence without peace, prosecution without accountability,' she added. 'While the CCP quietly works to replace the freedom and democracy of this authoritarian rule, the world has been trained to treat its abuses as background noise.' In retaliation against Abbas's advocacy on Beijing's mistreatment of Uyghurs, Chinese authorities 'Let's honor those who lost [their lives] with a vision for a better world, one where there is accountability for the tragedy in Tiananmen Square, and the justice for Uyghurs, Tibetans, Chinese dissidents, Hongkongers, Campaign for Uyghurs founder Rushan Abbas speaks during an event commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre that happened in China on June 4, 1989, at the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington on June 4, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), marking the day, introduced a bill to use sanctions and legal tools to address the Chinese regime's censorship and to protect U.S. citizens and legal residents from Chinese agents' intimidation. 'Outlive the CCP' Rowena He, a historian and author of the book 'Tiananmen Exiles: Voices of the Struggle for Democracy in China,' was a student in China's southeastern city of Guangzhou at the time of the massacre. She returned to campus the next day wearing a black armband in mourning, she shared, and was told by the teacher that if she didn't take it off, 'no one will protect you.' Hong Kong held a large-scale vigil to commemorate the anniversary every year Remembering what happened in 1989 matters to more than the victims and participants in the protests, she told The Epoch Times. Rowena He, senior research fellow at Civitas Institute, speaks during an event commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre that happened in China on June 4, 1989, at the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington on June 4, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times 'The truth is still not revealed, and justice is not done,' she said. The cover-up the regime deployed around the Tiananmen Square incident happened again during the COVID-19 pandemic, when medical doctors wanted to warn about the virus's danger, she noted in her speech. It 'became the violation of human rights of every single human being on Earth,' she said. 'So don't tell me that human rights and Tiananmen [are] about them, about China. It's about here. It's about us. It's about now.' Piero Tozzi, staff director of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said the massacre was a lesson of what the world could have done. 'The nature of the regime revealed itself 36 years ago—that's the same regime that is in power today,' Tozzi told The Epoch Times. 'The difference, though, is that they're far more powerful, economically, militarily.' In 2000, Congress passed legislation to give China permanent most-favored-nation status, now known as permanent normal trade relations, which paved the way for China's accession to the World Trade Organization. The status opened the U.S. market to Chinese products with trade advantages, including reduced tariffs. 'There was a chance to really break the regime, but we bailed them out,' Tozzi said. And now, 'that monster has grown.' Piero Tozzi, staff director of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, at an event commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre that happened in China on June 4, 1989, at the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington on June 4, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times 'Right now, it is an existential threat, not just to the United States but to the world.' Frances Hui, who was granted U.S asylum in September 2021, said that she was once 'baked into the national pride of China' before finding out about the massacre when she was 10 years old. The 1989 incident opened her eyes, Hui told The Epoch Times. 'I realized, wow, like in China, actually that many years ago, people longed for a democratic China, and just like us, like Hongkongers, we're fighting for it, all this time,' she said. Hui is now the advocacy coordinator for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation. Hongkongers had tried to remember through the vigil, and now that it's banned, the rest of those in the free world need to 'carry on that responsibility, to keep remembering this day,' she said. 'Because as long as we remember it, one day justice will come, although it's obviously a delayed justice.' David Yu, board chairman of the June 4th Massacre Memorial Association, noted that although the Chinese regime may seem powerful, it currently faces many internal problems that are 'irreconcilable.' David Yu, executive director of the June 4th Massacre Memorial Association, speaks during an event commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre that happened in China on June 4, 1989, at the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington on June 4, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times 'They are being suppressed, and you don't see them,' he told The Epoch Times. It's only a question of time before these issues explode, he said, 'and the day when they explode isn't that far away.' Yu ended his speech by expressing conviction about the CCP's eventual collapse, and Hui echoed him, expressing belief that she will 'outlive the CCP.' 'There's no forever for any governance, and I believe that authoritarians will only lead to one end, which is the end of them,' Hui said. 'So we need to prepare for it.'
Associated Press
31 minutes ago
- Associated Press
UN nuclear agency members draft resolution accusing Iran of failing to meet obligations
VIENNA (AP) — Western nations are planning to table a resolution at a meeting of the U.N.'s nuclear agency that will find Iran in non-compliance with its so-called safeguards obligations for the first time in 20 years, a senior western diplomat said Thursday. The move comes at a sensitive time as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration seeks to reach a deal with Tehran to limit its nuclear program. The two sides have held several rounds of talks, so far without agreement. A draft resolution, jointly tabled by France, the U.K. and Germany, known as the E3, together with the United States, was circulated today after a final sign-off by Washington. The State Department did not immediately comment. The draft resolution, which was seen by The Associated Press, says: 'Iran's many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran ... constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement.' The draft resolution furthermore finds that the IAEA's 'inability ... to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful gives rise to questions that are within the competence of the United Nations Security Council, as the organ bearing the main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.' It requests IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi 'to continue his efforts to implement this and previous resolutions and to report again, including any further developments on the issues.' The text of the draft may change before it is formally tabled, as board members have the opportunity to suggest amendments. Under the so-called safeguards obligations, that are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is legally bound to declare all nuclear material and activities and allow IAEA inspectors to verify that none of it is being diverted from peaceful uses. In the IAEA's 'comprehensive report' that was circulated among members states last weekend, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said that Iran's cooperation with the agency has 'been less than satisfactory' when it comes to uranium traces discovered by agency inspectors at several locations in Iran that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites. The IAEA has been seeking answers from Iran regarding the origin and current location of the nuclear material since 2019. Western officials suspect that the uranium traces discovered by the IAEA could provide evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003. Iran denies ever having had a nuclear weapons program and says its program is entirely peaceful. The senior western diplomat called the resolution a 'serious step,' but added that western nations are 'not closing the door to diplomacy on this issue.' 'The objective of the resolution is for Iran to resolve the issue,' the source added, which is why the resolution will not immediately refer Iran's non-compliance to the U.N. Security Council to consider triggering more sanctions. 'They will have a window to finally comply and respond to all the requests that have been made over the last six years.' The board of governors 'stresses its support for a diplomatic solution to the problems posed by the Iranian nuclear programme, leading to an agreement that addresses all international concerns related to Iran's nuclear activities, encouraging all parties to constructively engage in diplomacy,' the draft resolution reads. However, if Iran fails to cooperate, an extraordinary IAEA board meeting will likely be held in the summer, during which another resolution could get passed that will refer the issue to the Security Council, the senior diplomat said. The three European nations have threatened in the past to reinstate sanctions that have been lifted under the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which expires on Oct. 18. Iran has previously retaliated to resolutions passed by the agency's board by further expanding its nuclear program and banning inspectors. Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi warned the IAEA against taking any 'politically-motivated action' by some board members, as this could undermine cooperation between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog, he wrote in a post on X. —- The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. —- Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape:
