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Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
UN investigator says US sanctions over her criticism of Israel will seriously impact her life
'It's very serious to be on the list of the people sanctioned by the U.S.,' Albanese told The Associated Press in Rome on Tuesday, adding that individuals sanctioned by the U.S. cannot have financial interactions or credit cards with any American bank. Advertisement When used in 'a political way,' she said the sanctions 'are harmful, dangerous.' 'My daughter is American. I've been living in the U.S. and I have some assets there. So of course, it's going to harm me,' Albanese said. 'What can I do? I did everything I did in good faith, and knowing that, my commitment to justice is more important than personal interests.' Advertisement The sanctions have not dissuaded Albanese from her work — or her viewpoints — and in July, she published a new report, focused on what she defines as 'Israel's genocidal economy' in Palestinian territories. 'There's an entire ecosystem that has allowed Israel's occupation to thrive. And then it has also morphed into an economy of genocide,' she said. In the conclusion of the report, Albanese calls for sanctions against Israel and prosecution of 'architects, executors and profiteers of this genocide.' Albanese noted a recent shift in perceptions in Europe and around the world following an outcry over images of emaciated children in Gaza and reports of dozens of hunger-related deaths after nearly 22 months of war. 'It's shocking,' she said. 'I don't think that there are words left to describe what's happening to the Palestinian people.' The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians but says more than half the dead are women and children. Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, the United Nations says hunger is rampant after a lengthy Israeli blockade on food entering the territory and medical care is extremely limited.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
UK to Recognize Palestine If Israel Doesn't End Gaza War
00:00 Well, last week we were talking about President Macron and France and making a similar announcement, but perhaps a little bit more explicit, saying that they will actually move to recognize a Palestinian statehood come September at the U.N. General Assembly. A lot of pressure has been building on the U.K. prime minister to do the same. He sort of did, but with a few caveats. What maybe. Walk us through what what he announced yesterday. Yeah, he didn't go quite as far as Emmanuel Macron did last week when he made that announcement of plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly, which is usually the third week in September. But Keir Starmer making it clear that he he is acknowledging the political pressure he's under from his own party to do more, to put pressure on Israel to to stop the conflict in Gaza. Starmer saying he will go ahead and recognise a Palestinian state if Israel doesn't wind down operations there, get itself set on a pathway toward peace that ends with a two state solution. So it's it looks like he's basically walking up to the line Macron put out there. This would if the two countries go forward and do this in September, they would be the first two of the G7 nations to officially recognize a Palestinian state. And it would it does add some pressure to Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to to get more aid flowing into into Gaza and to try to wrap up that conflict there as soon as they can. Yeah, well, you know, you bring up the flow of humanitarian aid and the passage of food into the Gaza enclave, but there are many within the Israeli coalition who are not happy to see Israel ease some of those curbs over the course of the weekend that members on the far right pushing back against the decision. So how likely is it that these big announcements coming from the likes of President Macron, from UK prime minister, a lot of push from international aid agencies as well? How likely is that to actually impact Netanyahu and his next moves? Well, we have seen periods since this conflict started with Hamas following Hamas's attacks on Israel in October 2023. We have seen periods where Israel has come under a lot of pressure internationally to either change its tactics, to pause the fighting, to do make other changes in its strategy. And it by and large, has has ignored much of that and and just kind of proceeded with its plan. The Netanyahu government continues to say their goal is to eliminate the political and military power of Hamas. It has not done that so far. And so it continues its operation. So I don't know that this is this is going to be enough to really persuade Netanyahu's government to do things differently, although they are, as you mentioned, working to get more aid in. We'll have to see whether that has the impact that the outside groups and foreign governments are looking for.
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
Trump Hostility To Wind And Solar Has Utilities Treading Softly
AT SEA - JULY 07: A wind turbine generates electricity at the Block Island Wind Farm on July 07, ... More 2022 near Block Island, Rhode Island. The first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States, five power generating structures are located 3.8 miles from Block Island, Rhode Island in the Atlantic Ocean. The five-turbine, 30 MW project was developed by Deepwater Wind and began operations in December, 2016 at a cost of nearly $300 million. (Photo by) President Donald Trump reiterated his hostility to wind generation when he arrived in Scotland for what was ostensibly a private visit. 'Stop the windmills,' he said. But the world isn't stopping its windmill development and neither is the United States, although it has become more difficult and has put U.S. electric utilities in an awkward position: It is a love that dare not speak its name, one might say. Utilities love that wind and solar can provide inexpensive electricity, offsetting the high expense of battery storage. It is believed that Trump's well-documented animus to wind turbines is rooted in his golf resort in Balmedie, near Aberdeen, Scotland. In 2013, Trump attempted to prevent the construction of a small offshore wind farm — just 11 turbines — located roughly 2.2 miles from his Trump International Golf Links, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He argued that the wind farm would spoil views from his golf course and negatively impact tourism in the area. Trump seemingly didn't just take against the local authorities, but against wind in general and offshore wind in particular. Yet fair winds are blowing in the world for renewables. Francesco La Camera, director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, an official United Nations observer, told me that in 2024, an astounding 92 percent of new global generation was from wind and solar, with solar leading wind in new generation. We spoke recently when La Camera was in New York. My informal survey of U.S. utilities reveals they are pleased with the Trump administration's efforts to simplify licensing and its push to natural gas, but they are also keen advocates of wind and solar. Batteries Improve Usefulness Of Wind, Solar Simply, wind is cheap and as battery storage improves, so does its usefulness. Likewise, solar. However without the tax advantages that were in President Joe Biden's signature climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, the numbers will change, but not enough to rule out renewables, the utilities tell me. China leads the world in installed wind capacity of 561 gigawatts, followed by the United States with less than half that at 154 GW. The same goes for solar installations: China had 887 GW of solar capacity in 2024 and the United States had 239 GW. China is also the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles. This gives it market advantage globally and environmental bragging rights, even though it is still building coal-fired plants. While utilities applaud Trump's easing of restrictions, which might speed the use of fossil fuels, they aren't enthusiastic about installing new coal plants or encouraging new coal mines to open. Both, they believe, would become stranded assets. Utilities and their trade associations have been slow to criticize the administration's hostility to wind and solar, but they have been publicly cheering gas turbines. However, gas isn't an immediate solution to the urgent need for more power: There is a global shortage of gas turbines with waiting lists of five years and longer. So no matter how favorably utilities look on gas, new turbines, unless they are already on hand or have set delivery dates, may not arrive for many years. Another problem for utilities is those states that have scheduled phasing out fossil fuels in a given number of years. That issue – a clash between federal policy and state law — hasn't been settled. In this environment, utilities are either biding their time or cautiously seeking alternatives. For example, facing a virtual ban on new offshore wind farms, veteran journalist Robert Whitcomb wrote in his New England Diary that New England utilities are looking to wind power from Canada, delivered by undersea cable. Whitcomb wrote a book about offshore wind energy, 'Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Energy, Class, Politics and the Battle for Our Energy Future,' published in 2007. New England Frustrated By Pipeline Shortage New England is starved of gas as there isn't enough pipeline capacity to bring in more, so even if gas turbines were readily available, they wouldn't be an option. New pipelines take financing, licensing in many jurisdictions, and face public hostility. Emily Fisher, a former general counsel for the Edison Electric Institute, told me, 'Five years is just a blink of an eye in utility planning.' On July 7, Trump signed an executive order which states: 'For too long the Federal Government has forced American taxpayers to subsidize expensive and unreliable sources like wind and solar. 'The proliferation of these projects displaces affordable, reliable, dispatchable domestic energy resources, compromises our electric grid, and denigrates the beauty of our Nation's natural landscape.' The U.S. Energy Information Administration puts electricity consumption growth at 2 percent nationwide. In parts of the nation, as in some Texas cities, it is 3 percent.
