Latest news with #Turk
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Real Madrid starlet passes Xabi Alonso's test; could play a key role next season
Arda Guler's performances were one of the highlights for Real Madrid during the FIFA Club World Cup campaign that ended in a heartbreaking 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinal. Guler was a live wire throughout the tournament and made a solid impression in the final third, along with another breakthrough star in Gonzalo Garcia. In light of the Turk's strong performances in Club World Cup, the player could gain favour from Xabi Alonso heading into the new season. Guler passes Alonso's first test As reported by MARCA, new coach Xabi Alonso was impressed with Guler's performances, not just for his quality on the ball but for his tactical maturity and willingness to adapt. Güler was deployed in a deeper midfield role during the tournament, in a system with three central defenders behind him – a position unfamiliar to him but one in which he thrived. Can Xabi Alonso get the best out of Arda Guler next season? (Photo by) The idea is to take advantage of his technique and vision, while also asking more of him defensively. Guler now begins preseason with a completely different outlook. After a frustrating start to life at Real Madrid, marked by injuries and limited minutes, he now seems to have found a coach who believes in him. Although Xabi Alonso has a long way to go before he can impose his playing style at the Bernabeu, everything points to Guler playing a key role in his plans. This is a good sign for Real Madrid as a whole, especially amid reports linking star player Rodrygo with a move away from the club this summer.
The Guardian
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Shooting ourselves in the foot': how Trump is fumbling geothermal energy
Geothermal is one of the most promising clean energy sources in the US, providing 24/7 renewable power that could meet rising energy demand from AI datacentres. But former Department of Energy officials are alarmed that Donald Trump is fumbling its potential. Compared with other clean energy sources such as solar and wind, geothermal enjoys rare bipartisan support. The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, has praised the technology, calling it 'an awesome resource that's under our feet'. And Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act preserved tax credits for geothermal. But the administration's slashing of Department of Energy staff, delays in issuing low-interest loans, and tariffs are together creating uncertainty for the industry and investors. The US has an advantage on geothermal over China and must move urgently, said David Turk, who served as the deputy secretary of energy under former president Joe Biden. 'Anything that stops our ability to execute on a plan – staffing, other funding – I think, is shooting ourselves in the foot,' Turk said. The White House and Department of Energy did not respond to questions about how their policies are affecting enhanced geothermal. Geothermal energy uses the heat from the Earth's crust to transform water into steam that turns turbines and generates electricity. It has been used for more than a century, but has been limited to places where hot water reached the Earth's surface, including hot springs. Now there's a new technique that can generate energy anywhere, known as enhanced geothermal. The same horizontal drilling approach used in fracking can reach hot rock deep below the surface. 'It opens up enhanced geothermal all over the country, all over the world,' Turk said. 'That's just tremendous.' So far, enhanced geothermal systems are located in the Western US. One of the most promising geothermal projects by Fervo Energy can be found in Utah. But the technology can also work in the east. The US is ahead of other countries on enhanced geothermal because of its shale gas boom over the past 15 years, said Eva Schill, a staff scientist who leads the Geothermal Systems Program at Berkeley Lab. 'The reason is that we have a lot of experience here from oil and gas fracking,' she said. The enhanced geothermal industry is nascent, generating only 1% of the US's electricity. And it's still too expensive to compete with coal and natural gas. But under the right conditions, it could evolve into a cheap source of power. A January article in the journal Nature Reviews found that it could be cost competitive with the national average cost of electricity generation by 2030. The US is the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China, and although US emissions have trended downward for the past two decades, the country is still not on track to meet its climate targets. The rapid growth of AI datacentres is further threatening those targets by fueling rising energy demand; datacentres need to run 24/7, so they tend to rely on fossil fuels. Geothermal can potentially solve that problem. It could create 80,000 megawatts of new power, according to a liftoff report published by the Department of Energy. 'To put that in perspective, that could meet 100% of all of the AI datacenter load growth for the next 10 years,' said Jigar Shah, a clean energy entrepreneur who served as the director of the loan programs office at the Department of Energy under Joe Biden. 'That's pretty impressive.' Already, Google and Meta have signed deals that would see geothermal companies power their datacentres. Enhanced geothermal accelerated under Biden-era policies. But several former energy department officials say the Trump administration is failing to provide the business certainty needed to get the fledgling industry off the ground. 'The whole ball game right now is bringing down those costs, proving it for investors,' Turk said. 'This is really about feelings,' Shah said. 'Do the investors feel like this administration really has their back when it comes to investing in these new technologies? They felt like we actually had their back when I was running the loan programs office, and when secretary [Jennifer] Granholm was running energy. They're unsure whether this administration has their back on these technologies.' Under the Biden administration, the loan programs office was working on closing a low-interest loan for geothermal. Similar loans previously boosted Tesla and utility-scale solar. However, the Trump administration has yet to close a low-interest loan for geothermal, Shah said. The gutting of energy department staff has lowered its capacity to support geothermal, several former energy department officials said. Thousands of scientists, analysts, engineers and procurement officers took deferred resignation offers or were fired. Politico reported that the administration was considering cutting loan programs office staff by half. The Department of Energy has lost 'absolutely indispensable' experts on geothermal and loans, Turk said. 'So I would worry about, have we lost some of that capacity to actually execute?' Trump's zeal for tariffs is adding to the industry's anxiety. Steel tariffs, now at 50%, are hurting companies that use steel in wells. Enhanced geothermal wells require installing miles of steel pipes. Behind the scenes, geothermal companies are 'freaking out' about the steel tariffs, Shah said. 'They don't want to say anything negative, lest the Eye of Sauron find them,' he added. The survival of the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for geothermal provides some certainty. Geothermal can still access the full tax credit, as long as they begin construction by 2033, when the value of the credit will begin phasing down. But geothermal projects now face strict restrictions on the involvement of 'foreign entities of concern,' such as Chinese companies and individuals, known as FEOC requirements. Geothermal projects use rare earth elements in their drill bits, and China dominates the rare earth minerals market, said a former energy department official who requested anonymity. 'This is a good enough market opportunity that somewhere in the world is going to come true, and we are really well set up for it, if we're not stupid,' the official said, talking generally about the industry. 'But we've unfortunately been pretty stupid, and we're making it harder on ourselves to win in an area that should be pretty easy to win.' There are actions the Trump administration can take immediately to bring down costs and boost the industry. The government can speed things along by 'doing a lot of mapping of resources to make it cheaper and less risky for drilling in this area versus that area', Turk said. 'Close a loan,' Shah said, explaining that it would send a strong signal to investors. 'We have the technology, we have the tools – the loan programs office and other tools – and I think now what we really need to do is establish the confidence,' Shah said.
The Guardian
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Shooting ourselves in the foot': how Trump is fumbling geothermal energy
Geothermal is one of the most promising clean energy sources in the US, providing 24/7 renewable power that could meet rising energy demand from AI datacentres. But former Department of Energy officials are alarmed that Donald Trump is fumbling its potential. Compared with other clean energy sources such as solar and wind, geothermal enjoys rare bipartisan support. The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, has praised the technology, calling it 'an awesome resource that's under our feet'. And Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act preserved tax credits for geothermal. But the administration's slashing of Department of Energy staff, delays in issuing low-interest loans, and tariffs are together creating uncertainty for the industry and investors. The US has an advantage on geothermal over China and must move urgently, said David Turk, who served as the deputy secretary of energy under former president Joe Biden. 'Anything that stops our ability to execute on a plan – staffing, other funding – I think, is shooting ourselves in the foot,' Turk said. The White House and Department of Energy did not respond to questions about how their policies are affecting enhanced geothermal. Geothermal energy uses the heat from the Earth's crust to transform water into steam that turns turbines and generates electricity. It has been used for more than a century, but has been limited to places where hot water reached the Earth's surface, including hot springs. Now there's a new technique that can generate energy anywhere, known as enhanced geothermal. The same horizontal drilling approach used in fracking can reach hot rock deep below the surface. 'It opens up enhanced geothermal all over the country, all over the world,' Turk said. 'That's just tremendous.' So far, enhanced geothermal systems are located in the Western US. One of the most promising geothermal projects by Fervo Energy can be found in Utah. But the technology can also work in the east. The US is ahead of other countries on enhanced geothermal because of its shale gas boom over the past 15 years, said Eva Schill, a staff scientist who leads the Geothermal Systems Program at Berkeley Lab. 'The reason is that we have a lot of experience here from oil and gas fracking,' she said. The enhanced geothermal industry is nascent, generating only 1% of the US's electricity. And it's still too expensive to compete with coal and natural gas. But under the right conditions, it could evolve into a cheap source of power. A January article in the journal Nature Reviews found that it could be cost competitive with the national average cost of electricity generation by 2030. The US is the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China, and although US emissions have trended downward for the past two decades, the country is still not on track to meet its climate targets. The rapid growth of AI datacentres is further threatening those targets by fueling rising energy demand; datacentres need to run 24/7, so they tend to rely on fossil fuels. Geothermal can potentially solve that problem. It could create 80,000 megawatts of new power, according to a liftoff report published by the Department of Energy. 'To put that in perspective, that could meet 100% of all of the AI datacenter load growth for the next 10 years,' said Jigar Shah, a clean energy entrepreneur who served as the director of the loan programs office at the Department of Energy under Joe Biden. 'That's pretty impressive.' Already, Google and Meta have signed deals that would see geothermal companies power their datacentres. Enhanced geothermal accelerated under Biden-era policies. But several former energy department officials say the Trump administration is failing to provide the business certainty needed to get the fledgling industry off the ground. 'The whole ball game right now is bringing down those costs, proving it for investors,' Turk said. 'This is really about feelings,' Shah said. 'Do the investors feel like this administration really has their back when it comes to investing in these new technologies? They felt like we actually had their back when I was running the loan programs office, and when secretary [Jennifer] Granholm was running energy. They're unsure whether this administration has their back on these technologies.' Under the Biden administration, the loan programs office was working on closing a low-interest loan for geothermal. Similar loans previously boosted Tesla and utility-scale solar. However, the Trump administration has yet to close a low-interest loan for geothermal, Shah said. The gutting of energy department staff has lowered its capacity to support geothermal, several former energy department officials said. Thousands of scientists, analysts, engineers and procurement officers took deferred resignation offers or were fired. Politico reported that the administration was considering cutting loan programs office staff by half. The Department of Energy has lost 'absolutely indispensable' experts on geothermal and loans, Turk said. 'So I would worry about, have we lost some of that capacity to actually execute?' Trump's zeal for tariffs is adding to the industry's anxiety. Steel tariffs, now at 50%, are hurting companies that use steel in wells. Enhanced geothermal wells require installing miles of steel pipes. Behind the scenes, geothermal companies are 'freaking out' about the steel tariffs, Shah said. 'They don't want to say anything negative, lest the Eye of Sauron find them,' he added. The survival of the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for geothermal provides some certainty. Geothermal can still access the full tax credit, as long as they begin construction by 2033, when the value of the credit will begin phasing down. But geothermal projects now face strict restrictions on the involvement of 'foreign entities of concern,' such as Chinese companies and individuals, known as FEOC requirements. Geothermal projects use rare earth elements in their drill bits, and China dominates the rare earth minerals market, said a former energy department official who requested anonymity. 'This is a good enough market opportunity that somewhere in the world is going to come true, and we are really well set up for it, if we're not stupid,' the official said, talking generally about the industry. 'But we've unfortunately been pretty stupid, and we're making it harder on ourselves to win in an area that should be pretty easy to win.' There are actions the Trump administration can take immediately to bring down costs and boost the industry. The government can speed things along by 'doing a lot of mapping of resources to make it cheaper and less risky for drilling in this area versus that area', Turk said. 'Close a loan,' Shah said, explaining that it would send a strong signal to investors. 'We have the technology, we have the tools – the loan programs office and other tools – and I think now what we really need to do is establish the confidence,' Shah said.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
United Nations alarmed by ‘worrying surge' in Iran executions
The United Nations urged Iran on Monday (July 28, 2025) to stop using the death penalty, citing a 'worrying surge in executions' this year. 'Reports that there have been several hundred executions in Iran so far this year underscore how deeply disturbing the situation has become and the urgent need for an immediate moratorium in the country on the use of the death penalty,' U.N. Human Rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement. According to information gathered by the U.N. Human Rights Office, at least 612 people were reportedly executed in the first half of 2025. The figure is more than double the number during the same period in 2024, when the Iranian authorities reportedly carried out at least 297 executions, the statement said. Minorities are disproportionately affected, it added. 'It is alarming to see the reports that indicate there are at least 48 people currently on death row — 12 of whom are believed to be at imminent risk of execution,' said Mr. Turk. The U.N. High Commissioner for human rights said information gathered by his office indicated that judicial proceedings were, in a number of cases, held behind closed doors and had consistently failed to meet due process and fair trial guarantees. Also read: Iran hangs man convicted of Israel spying, activists slam 'unfair' trial More than 40% of those executed this year were convicted of drug-related offences, his office said. Others were tried on 'broad and vague charges such as 'enmity against God' and 'corruption on Earth', which are often used by the authorities to silence dissent'. Tehran 'striving' to limit use Iran defended its use of the death penalty, saying it applied only to the most serious offences. 'The death penalty is recognised under Iran's domestic laws for a range of the most serious crimes,' said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. He said Tehran was 'striving to limit the use of this punishment to only the most severe crimes'. Mr. Turk said the authorities in Tehran were reviewing a draft espionage bill that would redefine 'collaboration with hostile states' — punishable by the death penalty — to include acts such as online communication, collaborating with foreign media and 'ideological alignment'. 'This bill dangerously broadens the scope of capital punishment for espionage and I call for it to be rescinded,' said Mr. Turk. Also read: Iran executes man convicted of rape Several NGOs say that Iranian authorities have arrested hundreds of people and executed dozens in a wave of repression following the 12-day war with Israel. They have accused the Islamic republic of using fear to compensate for weaknesses revealed by the conflict. Mr. Turk said, 'The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity. Instead of accelerating executions, I urge Iran to join the worldwide movement abolishing capital punishment, starting with a moratorium on all executions.' Iran ranks as the world's second-most prolific executioner after China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International. Executions in Iran are typically carried out by hanging at dawn. Mr. Turk's call came the day after Iran executed two men, having convicted them of carrying out armed operations for the exiled opposition People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK). 'This brutality only intensifies the outrage of the Iranian people and reinforces the determination of Iran's courageous youth to bring an end to this theocratic tyranny,' MEK leader Maryam Rajavi said on X. Rajavi is president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the political wing of the MEK, which Tehran regards as a 'terrorist' group.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Surge in Iran executions worrying, says UN
GENEVA: The United Nations on Monday urged Iran to stop using the death penalty, citing a "worrying surge in executions" that has included at least 612 people being killed so far this year. "Reports that there have been several hundred executions in Iran so far this year underscore how deeply disturbing the situation has become and the urgent need for an immediate moratorium in the country on the use of the death penalty," said a statement from UN human rights chief Volker Turk. According to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office, at least 612 people were reportedly executed in the first half of 2025. The figure is more than double the number during the same period in 2024, when the Iranian authorities reportedly carried out at least 297 executions, the statement said. Minorities are disproportionately affected, it added. "It is alarming to see the reports that indicate there are at least 48 people currently on death row -- 12 of whom are believed to be at imminent risk of execution," said Turk.
